


kiss me, set me free

by taeyeons



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, and i miss nielwink terribly, i love hp aus so pls dont hurt me, mentions of nct kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:43:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeyeons/pseuds/taeyeons
Summary: Jihoon loses his voice, it's all Woojin's fault.





	kiss me, set me free

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired by this [masterpiece](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7086799) (it's a lovely drarry fic, read if you will but not necessary to know the gist of this fic).
> 
> i love writing hp aus, it's pretty clear, and i've been toying with the idea with nielwink in mind for a while. i finally got up to it and i hope you enjoy it!!!! i apologise for any errors and jihoon's scorpio moon spiraling downwards. i warn you ahead that there's an awful lot of pining, swearing and stupidity (all on jihoon's end hahahahah).
> 
> aaaaand, happy daniel debut day! *pops confetti*

The hex hits Jihoon squarely and he stumbles backwards at the force. Within a second, he knows what it is and the anger fuels him up. The counter jinx is at the tip of Jihoon’s tongue but as he parts his lips, the word he utters is soundless and with a pang, Jihoon realises he has been successfully rendered speechless.

“This was supposed to be a civilised duel!” the head girl, Joohyun marches over with her hands on her hips. She’s fuming as she inspects Jihoon, her lips set in a grim line. The fiery red in her eyes matches the shade of her tie as she looms over the two students.

She immediately turns towards Jihoon’s duelling partner, Hyungseob. The latter visibly panics and cowers as Joohyun points at him accusingly, “You’re in trouble! Ten points fr–”

Hyungseob’s eyes are widened in shock and before he can process what has happened, Jihoon jumps in, catching Joohyun’s attention by tugging on her sleeve. She raises an eyebrow at him as he mouths the words, _it’s not him_. As much as he wants Gryffindor to slide down the house ranking, he doesn’t want Hyungseob to be beaten down for being wrongly accused. So much for doing the right thing.

“Are you sure?” Joohyun asks. And with Jihoon’s dejected nod, she inhales sharply and throws a warning look over to Hyungseob. “Alright, Jihoon, you’re free to go. I guess it’s useless for you to continue unless you’re able to do wordless magic?”

Jihoon shakes his head. He’s able to hold his ground but he doesn’t want to stay a single second in the classroom with all of _these_ eyes on him, with laughter threatening to erupt the moment Joohyun leaves him alone.

Joohyun jerks her chin towards the exit, “Then, you can leave. Report to your head of house about this.”

Jihoon soundlessly makes his way out of the classroom but not before meeting eyes with his best friend across the room with his own duelling partner from Gryffindor. Woojin is quietly snickering into the back of his hand, visibly attempting to withhold his laughter, and in that single moment, Jihoon feels utterly raged and ready to commit a murder. Never mind that he won’t be able to defend himself with any magic (because his wordless magic is not as great as he hoped), he wants to strangle Woojin to death.

Stares follow him until the door and when it clicks shut behind him, he can hear Joohyun faintly chiding the class of Slytherins and Gryffindors for losing focus. Jihoon knows he has to report this incident to Professor Kibum or _Key_ as he reminds the students to call him so, but then he feels his face colour in abashment at the realisation of what this is caused by. It’s frankly ridiculous.

_Lip lock jinx,_ it’s an old spell dated way back even when his parents were around. If Jihoon wasn’t wrong, it emerged post war and students had a field day with it during forbidden and risky parties held late at night, a harmless little game. The spell is to render the latter mute and there’s only two solutions to it; the first is asking the caster to take it off (which rarely happens and even in the event of doing so, it happens with a Hogwarts professor involved because the affected decided to rat them out) and the second is …well… kissing the one your heart desires.

It’s been quite a while since anyone’s been jinxed with it seeing that the famous joke shop at Diagon Alley has invented new, more interactive ways to play with any romantic interest in mind. Though they seem tamer than this jinx, not that Jihoon rather sip on a love potion or anything. He rather not have anything at all.

As he passes the Great Hall, contemplating for a split second if he should enter because it’s inching close to dinner, a few fourth year Ravenclaws rush by him. They momentarily glance at him and break out in giggles at him, not even bothering to hide what they know. _How the news have spread to the Ravenclaws this fast,_ Jihoon wonders bitterly. His appetite is slipping away and as much as Jihoon loves the roasted chicken, his mind is clambering for a quick exit to the Slytherin dungeon to hide away for the time being.

So he does just that.

Jihoon blows out a sigh of relief as he reaches the end of the dungeon but that relief is swiftly replaced with a slap to his forehead. Realisation painfully dawns upon him when he stares stupidly at the portrait of the house serpent. It hisses back at him in impatience as he continues to stand there, lost. He would try writing the password on a piece of parchment but he hasn’t had any of that on him. He could try _accio_ -ing them and he does but he’s once again stumped when no such parchment and quill comes to his aid.

_Fuck Woojin,_ Jihoon curses in his mind. He can imagine the former sharing what he has done with the rest and laughing at his misery. He knew he should’ve listened to his mother’s advice about the other Parks’ reputation for being utter pranksters. Jihoon’s familiar with their family’s lineup, spent some Christmas breaks with them and planned some awful yet brilliant pranks on unknowing muggles. It had all been fun and hilarious when Jihoon wasn’t the object of their plans but now when Jihoon is standing outside his house’s common room all because he can’t simply fucking say the password, he can almost sympathise with the poor muggles.

“Salazar,” someone says behind him and Jihoon turns, coming face to face with none other than what others presumably say the Slytherin prince, Kim Donghan. He’s cocking an eyebrow in amusement, glancing at Jihoon’s tight lipped situation.

The house serpent hisses again but this time, the portrait swings inwards to let both of them in. Jihoon flashes a smile of gratitude at Donghan, climbing into the common room. He’s even more relieved at the sight of an empty room which means most of them have retired downstairs for dinner. Jihoon’s exhausted at the prospect of any taunting from his mates, he rather deal with them the next morning when he has formulated a plan to kill Woojin for causing him this suffering.

“So, lip lock jinx huh?” Donghan comments next to him. Jihoon looks at him, the former has settled down on the couch before the fireplace with a book already open in his lap. His eyes briefly drop to Jihoon’s mouth before flitting upwards to meet Jihoon’s shy gaze. “Who’s the lucky one?”

Jihoon blushes, then he shrugs as if to say _who knows?_ He pretends to act like he wants nothing but Donghan to be the face of his desires and seeing how curious Donghan’s gaze is and the way his gaze is distracted, Jihoon guesses that he wouldn’t mind either.

“I’m envious,” Donghan says and it’s more like a teasing remark but it still makes Jihoon stutter on his way to the dormitory. He turns back to see that Donghan has focused on his book. Jihoon starts to clear his throat but no sound comes out. The frustration fills him and he is once again reminded of his state, angry at Woojin.

_You shouldn’t be_ , Jihoon wants to say but it’s locked behind this stupid jinx and he stomps all the way to the dormitory, his bed facing Woojin’s and his obnoxious moving Quidditch posters. Jihoon considers tearing one down just to break Woojin’s heart but decides that it isn’t as satisfactory. He settles for dreaming about stabbing Woojin and the worries and fury over his muted state temporarily ebb away into the night.

“J-Jihoon,” Woojin manages to choke out, eyes bulging out in wide panic. “ _Are you trying to kill me?_ ”

Jihoon narrows his eyes at his best mate, tightening his hold on his neck. He considered using one of the Unforgivables but what if it backfired on him just because he is not as smooth using wordless magic? Thus, Jihoon decides to use a physical attack instead even though he knows that he’s embarrassingly outnumbered alone by Woojin’s strength. Damn Quidditch players.

And he can feel Woojin squirming underneath him, trying to fight back. Jihoon feels his resolve slipping and soon before he knows it, he’s being flipped backwards onto the bed with Woojin hovering over him. Jihoon snarls at him but the growl is caught in his throat. He glares at Woojin as he grins wickedly at the former.

“Why, are you not grateful for helping you out?” Woojin jests, raising his eyebrows.

_Fuck you,_ Jihoon spits at him soundlessly. Woojin merely ducks out of the way and laughs even more maniacally. The wicked glint in his eye never wavered from the first time Jihoon had seen it a week into their first year in Hogwarts, he never thought he’d be the victim of it someday.

Jihoon grudgingly slumps backwards, losing the fight in him. He mouths at Woojin, all sad and pouty. _Do you know that I fucking hate you._

“Don’t get all puppy eyed at me now, Ji,” Woojin warns, shaking a finger in Jihoon’s face. He sees straight through Jihoon’s act, he should’ve known seeing how Woojin and him practically grew up together and possibly learnt the puppy eyes trick together to fool their parents alike into allowing them more playtime.

Jihoon sighs, but the anger did seep into him, turning into frustration. He still wants to kill Woojin very much but as he traces a finger down Woojin’s arm, he mouths, knowing that the latter can read his lips, _can you please remove the spell off me_.

Woojin’s grin slips a little and he turns away from Jihoon, opting to lie by his side instead. It’s a Saturday morning and while there’s a pile of homework to complete, Jihoon feels the waves of exhaustion rippling over him. He had gone to bed with the full intent of begging Woojin to take the spell off him or perhaps, threatening his life on the line. But as he turns to face Woojin, he sees the expression of determination on Woojin’s face and he finds that the hatred he has for his best friend is growing stronger by the minute.

“You deserve to be happy, no matter how dim-witted you are,” Woojin says and it’s so unexpectedly soft that it tugs on Jihoon’s heartstrings but then he takes his wand out and hexes Woojin wordlessly.

The boy exclaims in shock, turning over and clutching his right hand as furious, red boils pop out on his skin, trailing all the way down to his forearm. Woojin looks up at Jihoon in disbelief, his eyebrows furrowed in utmost anger. Jihoon feels the sense of satisfaction blissing him inside and he thanks Merlin that he manages to learn to do the spell without a single sound.

“What the _fuck_.” Woojin screams in pain as the boils on his arms are actively flaming and he can barely muster a proper expression, can barely pull out his own wand to fix it. Jihoon watches in mild interest as he walks over to his bed, casting another wordless spell to shield anyone out of his space so that Woojin wouldn’t try to do anything more.

Jihoon climbs into bed, his eyes immediately fluttering closed as the wails of Woojin’s pain grow in the room. He soon drifts off to sleep, to a dream where he successfully murders Woojin and is able to speak again.

Later that day, when Jihoon wakes up again to the blinding afternoon sun and no Woojin thankfully, he decides to head to the library to tackle the homework he has. The trip down to the library is fairly uneventful and that’s all he hopes for because he doesn’t have the strength to hex anyone after this morning.

The library is just as quiet as he wished for and he quickly finds the books he requires for his essay on antidotes to be handed in for Potions class. He somewhat has an idea on what to write about as he reaches for textbooks on dragons.

Then, Jihoon finds a perfectly quaint table at the corner near a window that overlooks the courtyard where he can see students frolicking under the sun, basking in the chilly air. It’s only October and whilst there’s the promise of a cold winter, the students want to enjoy being out with only thin sweaters on and perhaps the scarf resembling their house’s colours proudly. Jihoon feels the sudden ache to be there, leaning against the foot of a bench, his fingers digging into earth like he always does with some of his Slytherin mates. They would talk and talk about nothing and then, something about a muggle conspiracy (because this is a guilty pleasure that Jisung likes to share with them).

Now, Jihoon can’t even talk.

The bitterness radiates off him as he flips open his textbook loudly, the thud of the book cover against the table resonating in the emptiness of the library more than he anticipated. His eyes pore over the details of the text, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration when he couldn’t digest the words well. He flips through the pages, trying to find something relevant to refer to in his essay but it’s hard to focus when he’s reminded of his anger.

Jihoon rather _feels_ his presence first, all of a sudden, and when his head swivels to his left, he’s met with the confirmation that it is indeed the Hufflepuff with the unruly, brown hair settling down next to him in the library. He nods in acknowledgment, a routine that he’s so used to, before scrunching his nose, returning to the pile of books in front of him. There’s a pop up of a dragon swiftly moving through the air, a magical illusion hovering above the description of its kind on the page.

There’s more books crowding his area and Jihoon wants to say something about it so he grabs an empty parchment and scribbles something down to shove towards the boy in front of him.

“I’m messing up your study area?” Kang Daniel repeats as he rereads the message on the parchment in front of him. He has an eyebrow cocked at Jihoon and the latter nods, smiling sickeningly sweet at him and gesturing to Daniel’s overbearing pile of books poking into his space on the table.

Daniel scoffs, “I have a Herbology essay to write.” At that, Jihoon’s nose scrunches up again and Daniel leans over automatically to pinch the bridge of Jihoon’s nose playfully. The Slytherin gasps, swatting Daniel’s hand away.

He scurries forward to grab his parchment back and writes something else on it. Daniel leans forward once more, his hand not at all bruised by Jihoon’s attempt at violence. He chuckles softly, then, looking up to gaze at Jihoon with piqued curiosity.

_Stop tainting my reputation with your clinginess._

“So you really can’t talk,” is what Daniel says instead, ignoring Jihoon’s jab. His eyes rake over Jihoon, making him feel even more pathetic when he can’t sneer back successfully. “This is easily the best thing to happen.”

Jihoon lifts his hand, intending to shove Daniel away but the Hufflepuff foresees it. He grabs a hold of Jihoon’s enclosed fist, his own fingers curling around and tugging on Jihoon’s wrist till he falls forward ungracefully. Jihoon’s lucky that his other hand is on the table, tightening on the edge, as he almost plants his face in …Daniel’s lap when the latter pulls on his wrist. He glares upwards at Daniel, baring his teeth in a snarl.

But Daniel merely furrows his eyebrows at Jihoon, a mix of concern and curiosity is embedded in the lines of his forehead as he peruses at Jihoon. The other boy purses his lips, mouthing the words, _what in Merlin’s name are you trying to do?!_

Daniel has a habit of ignoring Jihoon’s words so he skips over the question like it’s nothing and replies with one of his own. “How are you going to do your classes if you can’t talk?”

Jihoon’s lips curl downwards and he fights the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he pointedly fixates his gaze upon the parchment on the table and then, at the hand halting him from doing anything else. He slowly raises his eyebrows to further emphasise his point and the Hufflepuff finally understands, dropping Jihoon’s hand. Amusement twinkles in Jihoon’s eyes, as he notices a deep shade of pink painting the tips of Daniel’s ears.

“I was just trying to stop you from hitting me,” Daniel mumbles but Jihoon hears it clearly in their close proximity.

He doesn’t comment on it and reaches for the quill to write his answer across the parchment. Daniel twists around to read Jihoon’s reply.

_I’ll just wing it. I have good grades in most classes anyway._

“Arrogant,” Daniel chuckles and Jihoon shoots a warning glare at him but it falls apart as it usually does when it comes to Daniel. A corner of his lips quirk upwards and soon, he joins in with Daniel, laughing softly to himself and realising the depth of this.

“Are you going to tell me who it is then?” Daniel asks once he has properly settled down. One of the books he’s brought with him is wide open on the table and when Jihoon glances briefly at it, he sees that it’s water plants. His eyes drift to the expression on Daniel’s face to see that he’s sporting a neutral expression like the question just popped in his mind and he’s merely asking out of boredom.

Jihoon looks away, frowning. This is exactly why he’s been avoiding people, well besides the obvious teasing that he’s going to get. Jihoon sighs, but it’s merely a puff of exasperation in the air and he can feel Daniel’s eyes on him, definitely studying him and wondering like he always does. He figures he can tell Daniel the answer, but the name doesn’t come to mind, he doesn’t want the name to appear.

Jihoon just fucking wants to talk normally again.

“If you can’t tell me, it’s okay too,” Daniel says softly and Jihoon hates that. He hates how patient and _kind_ Daniel is willing to be, and though their friendship guarantees it, Jihoon still feels like he doesn’t deserve that.

_It’s not that important._

Daniel quirks an eyebrow at Jihoon, then he replies sarcastically, “Sure. It’s not important to know who it is, not like it’s adamant to your _speaking_ ability.”

Jihoon flushes, biting his lip. He considers telling him for a while but then, the horror…the secrets…the admittance of it all. Jihoon rather not.

He smiles apologetically at Daniel. The other boy shrugs more easily than Jihoon had expected, and focuses back on his essay. Jihoon blinks and flits his gaze downwards at the books on his end. He wills the thoughts of dragons and antidotes to come back but now Daniel has gotten him thinking about the _one_ to make all of this go away. It’s tugging at the back of his mind and he squeezes his eyes shut for a brief second.

_No,_ Jihoon forces himself, grabbing his quill tightly, and scribbles some notes on the parchment. Though, his mind is emptying and there’s hot flashes of a face, a dream, a mouth puckering up. The quill slightly quivers in his hold. He looks up to see Daniel staring at him in mild concern but he puts on a small smile and shakes his head.

The rest of the Saturday afternoon sifts away in quietness shared between Daniel and Jihoon as they hunch over their schoolwork.

Jihoon can still feel the burn of Daniel’s fingers against his skin all the way till the night where he lays in bed, another sleepless night.

The question of the nature of Daniel and Jihoon’s friendship is something that they both deal with constantly.

Not that Slytherins hate Hufflepuffs (the historical, bitter rivalry has always been with the lions), but they never really take note of the Hufflepuffs. Their house values kindness, patience and loyalty, and whilst the Slytherins are just as hard bent on loyalty, most of the traditional Slytherins view those values as a weakness.

Jihoon just doesn’t really bother even though he’s a pureblood and his family probably thinks that way too but it doesn’t affect him notably. He just wants to get on ahead.

He did sneer a bit when he first met Daniel on the train where they were forced to share a train compartment. Woojin was chattering too loudly with another second year student, getting too excited about Quidditch try-outs. Jihoon imagines that the boy only goes to Hogwarts in excuse to play Quidditch because there’s literally nothing else he does, oh and torture Jihoon endlessly.

It was Daniel’s third year then, and he was late for the train so he just settled down in the first free train compartment he found. Jihoon didn’t object, a little blindsided by the smile that Daniel gave freely. It wasn’t until the train whistled, promptly making students change into their robes, that Jihoon noticed the sweep of yellow along Daniel’s robes and the sneer left his lips instinctively.

When Jihoon met Daniel’s eyes, he looked unsurprised at the emerald tie Jihoon was donning. Instead, he smiled again, softly. “I remember seeing you on your first day last year. You’re still as small as then.”

Jihoon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “You remember me?”

“Yeah?” Daniel said and his smile turned sheepish. He realised how creepy he sounded then and his eyes widened, multiple apologies spilled out of his lips. “W-wait, no! Okay, I don’t mean it like I was watching you the entire time or w-whatever! It’s just that you and your friend were called out by Professor Lee during the sorting for being rowdy? So that’s how I noticed you?”

Daniel’s mouth was turned downwards and it was so unnatural that Jihoon properly laughed at him, making the Hufflepuff to frown further but it was in confusion.

“It’s fine.”

The frown slowly dissipated and the smile from earlier returned. “Y’know, you’re not as bad as I thought Slytherins were.”

Jihoon raised his eyebrows, fixing his robes for the third time. It was little too long (he soon grew into it later on) and he wished he knew a spell to shorten the length. He’d probably ask around.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Hufflepuff.”

Their friendship grew from then onwards with Daniel skipping to the Hufflepuff table to share muggle sweets that he had gotten from his mother, _“I’m trying to cut down on my sugar intake so I gotta share!”_ , Jihoon coming down to watch Quidditch matches where Slytherin isn’t competing, Daniel slowly crawling into their group of friends and making everyone fall for his toothy, bright smile, Jihoon exploring the shades of yellow on his skin that he kind of stole from Daniel (though the other boy did gift him a proper Hufflepuff sweatshirt on one Christmas).

_“I’m glad you’re a Slytherin,”_ Daniel once whispered and Jihoon didn’t understand why when they were perfectly alone near the lake. Everyone else was at the Great Hall for lunch and the two boys decided to spend the free time by the lake, munching on sandwiches they brought from their house tables.

“I can’t imagine why when I’m expected to be the villain in some story,” Jihoon raised an eyebrow questioningly at Daniel. He was mostly joking, he loves his house and everything it embodies. He can’t ever see himself in another house like for example, _Gryffindor,_ that’d be too disastrous.

Daniel quietened but then he laughed, “Because now I know how to sneak into the most mysterious house quarters.”

Jihoon had slapped the back of his hand against Daniel’s shoulder, the mixture of their laughter filled the air and the sun set in Jihoon’s heart right there and then.

Whilst Woojin is his best mate, Jihoon enjoys being around the Hufflepuff. The light that resides in Daniel is the kind of intensity that Jihoon would naturally hide away from but when it comes to Daniel, he finds that he can stand staring directly into the sun. The warmth doesn’t hurt, the spots do dance around his eyes, and he does feel like he’s exhausting a total of ten years’ supply of energy.

But it’s Daniel. And Jihoon never minds.

The torture properly begins on Monday.

Jihoon somehow managed to hide away from the public during the weekend. It’s the first time in his school years that he finished all of his homework that are to be due in the following week. He also managed to ignore Woojin’s snickering every time he sees him and then the instinctive flinch when Jihoon raises his wand at him warningly.

There’s a few other hexes Jihoon knows in mind and he holds them as a threat above Woojin’s head if he ever tries to utter a single taunting word.

It’s also thanks to a certain Hufflepuff that he slid by the weekend with no harm done but everything shatters the moment Jihoon steps into his first class for the day which is Care for the Magical Creatures.

Bless Professor Yeol for looking that scandalised when a handful of sixth years, the deep red and gold flashing in the air, crowd around Jihoon and attempt to plant kisses on him.

The professor seems to return to himself when he sees one of the girls trying to unbutton Jihoon’s shirt and exclaims at them, “Girls, please step away from Park Jihoon unless you want detention on your heads!”

The giggling doesn’t subside but they do step back from Jihoon, leaving the Slytherin looking hazzled with his hair mussed and traces of lipstick tainting both of his cheeks. Jihoon’s throat feels oddly scratchy and he realises that he’s been trying to scream for the past few minutes but it’s been _silent_. He turns to flash a glare at Woojin who was standing at the sidelines instead of helping the boy with the sudden attack from the Gryffindors.

“Ten points from Gryffindor for such behaviour!” the professor sternly announces but it doesn’t deter any of the girls that previously jumped on Jihoon. They seem to be even more amused by the situation, whispering and squealing amongst themselves. He looks at the rest of the class, the Slytherins, and notices that they’re also holding laughter back, eyes squinted in amusement at the sight.

Jihoon moodily wipes at his cheeks, sighing at the pink on his fingertips. He quickly performs a wordless Vanishing spell on the lipstick stains and turns his attention to the class. They’re outside again, near the Forbidden forest, but he doubts Professor Yeol is bringing them in there and it’s confirmed when the professor steers them towards the hut where half of the classes are held at.

“Enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

Jihoon rolls his eyes before shoving his elbow into Woojin’s sides but he’s too slow for the other and it hits the air instead. Woojin smirks at Jihoon, waggling his eyebrows and making kissy noises at him. Jihoon feels the sigh leaving his lips again, this can only be the beginning of the storm.

And right he is, as he steps into the corridor, heading towards his next class. 

There’s groups of girls _everywhere_ trying to get their hands on him and Jihoon briskly walks past all of them in the slightly burly shadow of Woojin. Even though he had been the cause of it and was teasing Jihoon earlier, Jihoon is indeed glad and immensely grateful – though he’d never say it out loud— that Woojin at least put his best friend duties first and utmost by sending nasty glares to everyone even glancing at Jihoon in mild curiosity.

It’s not like Jihoon isn’t well known in school or anything; he has a reputation for his decent looks and quick-witted tongue. It doesn’t cause him a lot of attention, Jihoon’s glad now as he’s suffering through the backlash. He’s so used to simple, civil greetings in the corridors and classrooms. Now, as students try to jump at Jihoon at any chance they’ve gotten, he longs for the quiet. He wasn’t even aware that there’s this many students wanting to get their hands on him though he’s sure it’s more out of jest than admiration for him. That, alone, irritates him further because why can’t they fucking leave him alone?

Probably because Hogwarts hasn’t seen a lip hoplock jinx in a long while. Of course, Woojin has to go ahead and break that hiatus by hexing Jihoon and causing him all this unwanted attention. It must be the most exciting thing to happen in the school year besides the Quidditch season.

Jihoon has his hand curled around his wand in his pocket and every time he hears a giggle, his fingers twitch in paranoia. There’s whistling as he turns into the classroom and the professor isn’t here yet so it’s further encouraged. Everyone is grinning wickedly at him, all too knowingly that Jihoon flinches from the attention. He keeps his head down however and proceeds to sit at the back of the class.

He quickly scribbles down on an empty parchment, _this is all your fault._ It’s shoved towards his left where Woojin is just about to take a seat.

Woojin scoffs, “If only you just went ahead and kissed them, then maybe you wouldn’t be going through prolonged suffering.”

Jihoon glares at his best friend, his handwriting turns into an angry scrawl at Woojin’s accusation. _I don’t know what you expected of me. I’m not a fucking Gryffindor!!_

“You may not be a Gryffindor but I thought you wouldn’t want to keep it this long.”

That is true unfortunately but as Jihoon’s mind drifts off to the person in question, he can feel the air in his lungs rushing out and his gut clenching in fear. He’s _not_ that stupid and suicidal to attempt something so risky, he doesn’t know where Woojin has gotten the idea that this would be fucking brilliant. Hexing Jihoon to a lifetime of suffering and pain and the only solution is embarrassing himself? Jihoon’s a Slytherin for a reason; he’s not about to put his pride and image on the line.

_If I get mauled by a group of girls, it’s all your fault._

Woojin tilts his head sideways to read it and he laughs. Just as he’s about to answer, the professor for Defence against the Dark Arts walks in and all chatter ceases immediately. At the commence of class, Woojin slides a shameless wink towards Jihoon before taking his books out and the latter frowns in further fury and exasperation.

It’s sadly only the beginning.

The taunts from the other students echo in his ears for the next few days and they soon turn desperate when they realise that Jihoon hasn’t managed to break the curse. Cries of _“Park Jihoon, kiss me!”_ haunt Jihoon at every turn and he discovers that he isn’t safe anywhere at all. Even, the Great Hall is turning into a battlefield for him because everyone will attempt to jump at him, pouting their lips at him. Classes, otherwise, are still tolerable because he’s safe with professors leading the lessons and shushing any student on sight but once he leaves the sanctuary of the classroom, he’s plunged into mania.

Jihoon starts to resort to the library, sticking to the far corner where no one disturbs him. No one _dares_ to trigger the wrath of the librarian so Jihoon relies on that fear and keeps to himself. When he gets really hungry, he’ll sneak down to the kitchen and grab a few sandwiches. Otherwise, anywhere that is not a classroom or a venue for one of his classes is a no go and he wouldn’t risk it.

How he manages to keep being mute for the rest of the week is beyond him as well seeing how he can get extremely talkative but being withdrawn from almost all of the school population helps him to dive into the silence more often. It’s depressing, Jihoon misses talking and doing spellwork properly but fuck Woojin and his crazy ideas. He has a plan to maintain this as long as he could so it would seek out the guilt from Woojin but alas, the latter is incapable of such emotions as he continuously laughs at Jihoon when they’re alone, teasing him of his situation.

_“I only hexed you. You’re the one stubborn enough to not do anything about it.”_

_I can’t fucking do anything about it, Jihoon scribbled in barely concealed anger, gritting his teeth at the sight of delight on Woojin’s face. If I do ‘anything’, I’ll be embarrassing myself._

_“You’re being an embarrassment now.”_

The only person who manages to keep Jihoon sane is Daniel. The Hufflepuff has taken it upon himself to stay by Jihoon’s side as much as he can even with their differing schedules. The moment he realises that Jihoon is hiding out in the library to avoid the attention, he comes down to the library every break with food stuffed into his bag. And they sneak bites in between glances at the librarian and muffled laughter in disbelief of what they’re doing.

Still, Daniel can’t avoid the elephant in the room no matter how much he tries visibly for Jihoon and the latter sees that clearly in the way Daniel swiftly swerves the topic of the conversation to a school subject, his impending worry about the Quidditch season, whether his mother would be delighted in his desire to pursue a teaching job rather than a position in the Ministry. It’s all appreciated really and Jihoon gratefully smiles at Daniel whilst he blabbers on and on about Jaehwan hexing his dress robes to change colour every five minutes.

It makes sense for Daniel to reach the limit of his patience so when he sits down one day ( _a whole five days after being cursed with the jinx_ ), Jihoon can tell by the look of determination in his gaze that he’s not going to start talking to Jihoon about dress robes or some woes about the future.

Jihoon absentmindedly slides a fresh new parchment over his growing, fruitful notes on Transfiguration and awaits for the bomb Daniel’s about to drop.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask, I know you don’t have to tell me _but_ ,” Daniel lifts his gaze upwards to meet Jihoon’s tired eyes. “Are you ever planning on ending this?”

He gestures dramatically at Jihoon like he’s sporting some outwardly disease that he has control over. Jihoon gives him a wry smile before scribbling his answer as always, _Of course I want to end this stupid jinx but Woojin won’t take it off._

Daniel reads his reply and then, quirks an eyebrow at Jihoon all too knowingly. Jihoon can already envision the answer on the tip of his tongue and sure enough, he asks, “How about the alternative solution?”

For some reason, Jihoon colours crimson at the thought, his cheeks bathed in abashment. He shakes his head stubbornly, _that is not an option I’d want to explore._

And bless Daniel’s heart as his eyebrows furrow in confusion. “But… _why?_ ” The frown is apparent on his features. “Is there a reason why you don’t want to pursue her? Afraid of rejection? Has she outrightly said something against you?”

Jihoon hums silently. _No, not that I know of._ He hesitates a bit, flitting his eyes upwards briefly to meet the plain curiosity in Daniel’s irises. He’s been awfully patient and nice about the entire situation unlike his Slytherin mates and the rest of the school population it seems. Jihoon continues, his quill scratching against the parchment.

_I just don’t want to burden them._

If Jihoon’s careful usage of pronouns was obvious to Daniel, the latter doesn’t show as he merely bites on the inside of his cheek, contemplating Jihoon’s written answer. He nods dutifully in understanding and drops the conversation to Jihoon’s relief. They continue onwards to much more lighthearted topics that don’t circle back to Jihoon’s choice of being rendered mute and the person in question to end it.

Jihoon gives a silent chuckle as Daniel makes an overexaggerated impression of one of his seniors, Kim Jonghyun, when the latter realised that the Hufflepuff team had booked the field for Quidditch practices for a whole weekend. They end up getting promptly reprimanded by the librarian for disturbing the quiet and they have to muffle their laughter, well Daniel mostly, behind crinkled eyes and tight-lipped smiles.

At the end of the day, Jihoon reaches across the table, slanting his hand atop Daniel’s. The Hufflepuff raises his head in question, darting his gaze from their hands to Jihoon’s face. His eyes widen slightly when Jihoon mouths the words of gratitude at him. It’s not a rare occurrence for Jihoon to extend his thanks when needed but it is indeed rare for him to initiate anything in the first place so he witnesses an expression of surprise then, a soft look that he can’t seem to decipher settling on Daniel’s face.

Daniel tightens their interlocked hands together as he whispers, “Anytime.”

Jihoon knows that he sought out places to hide from the school population in hopes of being left alone but as he glances at the Hufflepuff across him, he finds that a little company is definitely desired. He’s just glad that it’s Daniel whom _sought_ him out.

It doesn’t register in his mind that he’s been spending an awful lot of time with the Hufflepuff until Woojin oh so kindly points it out one morning when Jihoon’s in the midst of pulling his jumper on.

They were prompted a few days earlier about having a Duelling class outdoors to experience it even more hands-on and take advantage of the space to properly duel. Jihoon is obviously exempted from duelling but he’s been asked still to attend the class to monitor it. The head of Slytherin house, Professor Kibum initially blanched when Jihoon confessed to him of his mute situation and then, he laughed, starting to reminisce about _his_ own school days. Then, he wished Jihoon _good luck_ and requested him to attend Duelling classes as per normal but he no longer has to partake until he fixes his problem.

_“And if you have a hard time fixing it, let me know. I’m known to be quite a matchmaker in the olden days,” Professor Kibum snickered, oblivious to the look of mortification on Jihoon’s face._

Great, now even professors are finding humour in Jihoon’s unfortunate situation.

Woojin leans over Jihoon’s four-poster bed, barely blinking at the sight of exposed skin in front of him. “You’ve been away a lot these days.”

Jihoon turns and fixes a piercing glare at Woojin for not knowing his limits. Best friend or not, Jihoon ought to hex the living hell out of him. He grabs the folded parchment on the side table, it’s so pathetic that he’s resorted to writing his answers out and even more pathetic to find that it’s become a habit to him. Has it really been that long?

_Yeah,_ the sarcasm drips out in his answer. _I fucking wonder why._

Woojin snorts, raising an eyebrow, “Okay, but you’ve been with a certain Hufflepuff all this while.”

Jihoon freezes and that seems to be enough confirmation for Woojin as he laughs all too knowingly for Jihoon’s liking and smirks. “That’s what I meant.”

Okay… _okay_. Maybe, he has been spending more time with Daniel than he usually does but in his defence, his house mates are absolutely awful and unhelpful in protecting him from the obsessive school population. It has been almost a week and it’s insane how it hasn’t blown over but Jihoon reckons that it’s nearly the longest anyone has ever been under the lip lock jinx.

The real question here should be how exactly has Jihoon endured being unable to talk for this long? It’s miraculous, considering how Jihoon can’t even use his voice to whine anymore and he isn’t sure if the concept is being reflected on parchment well, there’s only so many exclamation marks he can write. Being with Daniel, however, helps Jihoon to breathe easier, makes him forget that he can’t talk which is unusual but that’s the effect. Daniel doesn’t really push him to say anything, filling silences with _his_ overly chatty voice, being loud enough for both of them and he merely needs a smile from Jihoon to keep going on and on.

But _that_ is not what Jihoon wants to answer to Woojin’s observation.

Jihoon pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing in deeply. _Salazar’s sake, are you going to be insufferable? Is it not enough that you hexed me this…this curse!_

Woojin reads his reply and looks over, still smirking. Jihoon aches to use one of the ten hexes he knows wordlessly. “A curse that’s a blessing in disguise?”

Jihoon wonders if he is capable of glaring at Woojin until he withers under the intensity and combusts.

Woojin has the nerve – the _bloody_ nerve to circle around the bed to shift closer to Jihoon as the latter is quietly trembling with frustration (that’s how he has been for the past week) and place a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to soothe him. Jihoon merely shoots a look to the hand on his shoulder, barely pulling back the impulsive urge to whip his wand out and point it at Woojin.

“All I’m saying is this is for your sake. You’ve been so pathetic for the past year and I’m trying to help you.”

Jihoon sucks in a breath.

He wonders if Woojin will ever grow a guilty conscience at some point. It seems unlikely when that wild glint is still shining in his eyes.

“So now, if you can direct all this raging energy into kissing someon—”

Woojin doesn’t get to finish his sentence as another hex hits him straight in the chest, causing him to jump back with a squeak and then, a scream of terror when he looks down at himself. His skin is growing scales, agonisingly slow but the damage has been done. Jihoon doesn’t bother to turn back to help when Woojin cries out about how unfair it all is.

Jihoon is tired of running away.

So he does the most illogical thing ever; he turns in the direction of the Quidditch pitch and heads over there just as a house team is having practice.

As he strides over, a mild sense of horror and fear seizes him as he realises that it’s _Hufflepuff_ playing. Jihoon inwardly slaps himself at the mere stupidity, he should’ve known but it’s too late now to turn back because the Chaser of the team catches his eye and waves over at him enthusiastically with an eased grin.

Jihoon swallows and attempts to smile back though he’s sure that it’s small and a little scared. The Chaser turns back to the practice and mimes taking a break. Jihoon can feel his feet stuttering but he’s already at the bleachers and he sees numerous Hufflepuffs all cheering for the team. He notices that he’s the only green in the stands and tries not to let it get to him as he crosses over and settles down on a bench.

Surprisingly, no one has really taken note of him and Jihoon wonders if this is Daniel’s influence on his housemates. Looking back, Jihoon realises that none of the Hufflepuffs have really bothered him, he doesn’t know whether to pin it on Daniel warning them ahead or the fact that Hufflepuffs have no interest in anything Slytherin for that matter.

Jihoon has never really been a big fan of Quidditch. Even while growing up, his pureblood parents have never instilled the need of playing Quidditch in his childhood, he guesses that it’s mostly because of his father’s lack of interest in the sport or sports in general. Otherwise, he’s been grateful because he already has to fulfil the expectation of topping classes and maintaining Outstanding’s in all examinations so to imagine piling winning the house cup atop of that, Jihoon could possibly choke to death.

Nonetheless, Jihoon has only grown a semi interest because of his best friend. Alright, not really. Woojin tried his utmost best to force him into worshipping the sport but Jihoon flinched at the strenuous physicality and he rather stay in the dungeons.

Now, however, in his peripheral vision, Jihoon sees Daniel circling around the field, patting everyone’s backs for the good practice. He’s seen the Chaser in action so many times but nothing has ever prepared him for the way Daniel turns on his broom, heading towards Jihoon smoothly, the autumn wind whipping through his hair effortlessly. This – exactly _this_ is why Jihoon attends the Quidditch games now more religiously than before. All in good support or that’s what he tricks his heart into thinking.

“Hey.”

Jihoon smiles, chin tipping upwards to meet Daniel’s gaze. The other boy unmounts his broom and settles down next to Jihoon with still a bit of distance between them. He can feel eyes stilling on the sight of them, and tries to ignore them when he pulls out his trusty parchment.

_Practicing in the cold? You must be desperate to win._

Anyone else would be offended but Daniel reads it over and chuckles heartily. “A bit, yeah. Hufflepuff hasn’t won the cup in ages and we have the best team for the first time in a while.” He purses his lips, a crease wrinkled in the middle of his forehead. Waves of stress are emanating off him and it’s not like Jihoon understands the importance of winning the cup but he feels himself sympathising with the former. “There’s a lot of pressure, I suppose.”

Jihoon barely thinks twice before he leans over to smoothen out the crease on Daniel’s forehead with his thumb, rubbing slow circles until Daniel’s face relaxes. He makes the mistake of drifting his gaze downwards to meet Daniel’s and he’s overwhelmed by the softness in his irises, blankly staring at Jihoon like… like…

Like there’s nothing else in this world except Jihoon.

_Merlin._

Jihoon jumps back, immediately piling distance on between them. His eyes have shifted elsewhere and his fingers have tangled together in the midst of panic. He squeezes the imagery of Daniel’s expression frowning again but in disappointment now when he moved away. There’s enough question marks in his mind, mostly surrounding his current unfortunate hexed situation, he doesn’t need… No.

Daniel clears his throat but Jihoon still keeps his eyes on the pitch. It’s just a trick of his mind, trying to convince himself otherwise. Jihoon tells himself off and it’s become such a painful mantra that ripples through his mind every single day whilst in presence of the Hufflepuff.

“Anyway, what made you come out to the field today?” Daniel asks and his voice doesn’t hold any edge like Jihoon would have thought. He laughs at himself inwardly, of course, he’s the only one overthinking it.

Jihoon turns back to Daniel, scribbling across the parchment. _Bored. The attention is subsiding thankfully._ He pauses, sweeping the bleachers with his gaze, notably the way the other Hufflepuffs immediately look away when he turns his head towards them. _Did you… somehow tell your house mates to not bother me?_

If Jihoon was expecting a reaction, he was certainly entertained and surprisingly so. Daniel’s cheeks are painted crimson and he clears his throat again. It’s so endearing to watch as Jihoon leans in subconsciously, eyes twinkling at the sight. Daniel notices the other boy inching closer and his expression turns slightly alarmed before being replaced by a forced expression of neutrality.

“…Maybe?” Daniel says and the smile he wears is so shy, it has Jihoon’s heart tightened at the corners. “I tried to ask Jaehwan to pass the message on to his mates but…uh…I shouldn’t have expected better, I suppose. The Gryffindors would use any excuse to humiliate a Slytherin. All this stupid history between you two…anyway, I hope it didn’t seem too much of me to do something like that?”

Daniel’s literally babbling and the redness is spreading to the tips of his ears, though it could easily be due to the chilly air. Jihoon bites down on the urge to take a hold of Daniel’s hands to calm him down. Instead, he cracks a smile and it catches Daniel’s attention, his words slowing down.

“I take it you’re not mad?”

Jihoon shakes his head, still grinning.

“Oh thank Merlin,” Daniel exhales. “I thought you were going to be a right idiot and reprimand me for standing up for you.”

Jihoon scrunches up his nose and moves forward to land a small punch against Daniel’s arm. It barely does its damage because Daniel is laughing at him, eyes crinkled, his cheeks a lovely pink now.

_What does that mean? Why would I scold you for making things easier?_

Daniel shrugs in reply and when Jihoon shoots him one of his infamous glares, he continues. “You know, your issue with letting others to help you out. You’re such a stubborn little Slytherin.”

_First of all, I’m not little!_ Jihoon fumes as the quill scratches against the parchment, suffering the worst of his mild irritation. _Secondly, I’m not stubborn!_

Daniel is smirking now and it almost wipes the fury on Jihoon’s face to replace with an embarrassed blush but no, he won’t succumb to such. He holds his ground, tips his chin upwards –only to realise that he is unable to look down on Daniel considering their differences in height – and stills his fast beating heart.

“And thirdly?” Daniel is honestly… Jihoon wouldn’t categorise him as an asshole (because that is a title that Woojin holds dearly) but the way his eyebrow is quirked at him, eyes glinting in something new entirely to Jihoon, it’s setting everything in him on fire. And he wants him to stop.

Jihoon frowns, his quill hovering above the parchment. Yet…the mere fact that Daniel actually did something like that, standing up for a _Slytherin_ in front of his house mates, lessening the headache of facing the school population on a daily basis. Sure, Jihoon barely realised that none of the Hufflepuffs teased him over the jinx but how is he able to diminish any of the house colours when he’s busy running away from the mere sight?

_And lastly… thank you._

Jihoon watches the words registering in Daniel’s mind and he’s blessed by the brightest smile on his face, directed at him. All attempts of calming his heart are fruitless. The beating of his heart grows louder in his ears the longer their gazes are locked. Jihoon wants to turn away, push Daniel away to his Quidditch practice but he also wants to…

He wants a lot of things.

“You know,” Daniel is leaning in, his voice dropping in a whisper suddenly. His gaze is still piercing into Jihoon’s, his smile tainted by mischief. “Only significant others are allowed to watch Quidditch practices.”

_Oh._ It first occurs to Jihoon that Daniel is probably just joking but when he turns around, he sees that the other boy is actually _right._ There’s that Ravenclaw prefect, Seungwan whom Jihoon has seen a few times around and her eyes are fixed on a singular Hufflepuff. Following the line of her gaze, it’s set upon the Hufflepuff Keeper, Seulgi. He shifts his eyes elsewhere and takes note on how everyone is literally making heart eyes at…one member of the Hufflepuff team.

And then, he swivels back to the boy next to him, realising that he does only have eyes for…one boy.

Jihoon raises his eyebrows back at Daniel, surprising the latter when he teases. _Who says I’m staying to watch the practice?_

Then, Daniel has the bloody nerve to _pout._ His bottom lip juts out, turning downwards, as his eyes reflect mock sadness. Jihoon almost falls into the temptation of staring at his lips, his gaze lingering there for a second before flitting upwards. It takes all of his self-control to _not_ lose control in that moment when Daniel pouts at him like the overgrown pup he is.

“Are you leaving already?” Daniel’s voice is painfully needy and Jihoon almost cracks. He really did.

_For the love of Salazar._

Jihoon sighs, then, he rolls his eyes when Daniel’s face changes into a look of triumph. Jihoon’s plan to pretend like he’s being forced into it subsides when Daniel reaches outwardly for his hand, squeezing it tightly _._ His eyes are cruelly beautiful with the dawning sun behind him, Jihoon can’t remember how to breathe suddenly. The touch, the smile, it makes it all hurt a little more when he can’t part his lips to _say_ how he’ll stay here as long as Daniel wants him.

“Thanks, Ji. I need important pointers and I know you don’t really care about Quidditch and you’re loyal to Slytherin.” Daniel smiles. He must really be so pressurised that he’s asking help from a Slytherin non fan. “You can say things like my hair is getting too much wind or something.”

Jihoon looks up and Daniel’s hair _is_ getting too much wind. He chuckles silently, _wind or no wind, Daniel, your hair is hopeless._

“Hey!” Daniel exclaims, affronted. He makes a face, continuing on, “It’s not _that_ hopeless.”

_Don’t you have a Quidditch practice to get back to?_

Daniel smiles. He drops his broom in the air and it automatically levitates, awaiting. He runs a hand through his hair, probably in affect of Jihoon’s words, and tugs on the ends. He mounts his broom and right before he goes back to the field, he says, “Remember. Pointers, okay?”

Jihoon snickers silently. _Alright, alright. Do your best._ He isn’t the best at words of encouragement but he supposes it’ll do and he holds up the parchment for Daniel to read. A look of elation spreads across Daniel’s face and the crinkles at the corners of his mouth soften.

“For you, I will.”

Jihoon sleeps that night and he dreams of flying a broom around the Astronomy tower with the sun so close, he could possibly catch it in his hand.

Potions, _no._ It’s worse. It’s _double_ Potions.

Jihoon drags his feet towards his designated seat next to his partner, Bae Jinyoung, a fellow Slytherin. He’s been so out of touch with everything going on since he’s been busy running away from embarrassment and diving head first into a dangerous territory surrounding _heart wrenching feelings and being stupid as hell._ Jihoon can barely remember the whole week, he only sees flashes of classes, failed spells, disappointed head shakes at him and a clear pass for his unfortunate problem of not being able to talk.

But Jihoon knows that this sympathy can only last for so long; soon enough, teachers will start hounding him for not being able to complete his work properly, shouting at him – _are you a proper wizard or not?_ — and demand the name of the jinx caster. Jihoon wouldn’t mind sending Woojin straight to expulsion at this point but even he doesn’t want to be called out as the loser who can’t muster a little courage to peck someone.

The peck, in question, is still something that Jihoon can’t wrap his mind around. Every time he thinks about the requirement, he can feel the nerves rising up in his throat and if he can scream, he’d be screaming all the time because he won’t be able to do it. Jihoon’s not that brave to attempt something like this.

Woojin, as usual, is the worst best friend anyone could have.

Jihoon slumps forward in his seat, feels the tug on his robes and turns slightly to his right to see Jinyoung staring at him in wide-eyed concern. “Jihoon? You okay?”

He merely nods before closing his eyes again, absolutely exhausted by everything.

Jihoon hears Jinyoung’s voice, still lined in concern. “I haven’t seen you around lately. Is it all because of th-that jinx? Woojin said you’re having a hard time.”

_Did he?_ Jihoon thinks bitterly. It’s all because of Woojin and yet he has the nerve to lament about his sufferings to their other mates like he _didn’t_ cause it. Fucking asshole.

Sighing, he pulls himself upright and writes across a parchment pulled out of his pockets. He’s become so used to folded parchments in his robes with full length sentences written. When Jihoon reads them back in the dormitory, he stifles a laugh at how pathetic it looks; a one-sided, angsty conversation.

_I’m okay. Just avoiding everyone._

“Well, if you had told us who it is, we would have helped.”

Jihoon flashes a look at Jinyoung, _why is everyone so curious about it????? It’s none of your business!!!_

Feeling so done with all the questions, he heaves a huge sigh. Then, he feels slightly guilty when he sees Jinyoung frowning at his words. Jihoon doesn’t really mean to make him feel bad but he does feel tired of hearing the same question. He supposes it is surprising that he is mute for this long and he hasn’t been able to kiss his heart’s desire but maybe, if everyone left him alone, he’d be able to.

(That’s a lie. Jihoon will never be ready to take the risk no matter what.)

“I promise not to tease you,” Jinyoung affirms. Then, he adds as an afterthought. “Though, I can’t promise that on everyone else’s behalf.”

Once again, Jihoon’s struck by the temptation to just let it all out but then, fear seizes his heart and he can’t imagine even writing the name out. It feels so intimate, like a secret he can only hold and daresay, if he tells, he’ll feel painfully empty, his veins humming in anxiety. Just as easily as the intent to tell Jinyoung came, it vanishes and Jihoon looks at Jinyoung, inwardly flinches at the anticipation lingering in his eyes.

Jihoon smiles apologetically and shakes his head before returning to his Potions textbook. He’s saved by the professor sweeping in to start the lesson and he pretends to not notice the way Jinyoung parts his lips to say something and eventually closes it with a sigh.

The guilt does build up in Jihoon’s gut and he hates it. It’s not his fault that everyone’s after his throat (and lips, _ugh_ ). He does miss going down to the Slytherin table like he normally would, miss joking around with his mates without the stupid issue of not being able to fucking talk, miss being able to walk down corridors without a hand tightening on his wand.

Jihoon shakes all the thoughts away, it’s bad enough that he’s already far behind on school work no matter how much time he spends in the library. Daniel proves to be a great distraction and help but it still doesn’t ease the fact that Jihoon needs his voice to do magic. He’s only seventeen years old and wordless magic is still a feat for him to achieve. A few easy spells like _accio_ or _stupefy_ are manageable but he won’t be able to transfigure successfully or in this case right now, brew a draught of living death.

Jinyoung hard carries the potion brewing process the entire two hours as Jihoon helplessly lingers at his side, watching the bubbles in the cauldron and manually preparing all the ingredients. Jinyoung fills the silence with chatter airily, filling him on the latest gossip. Jihoon’s ears perk up at the lazy mention of Donghan asking after him and immediately hide his flush when Jinyoung notices the interest and raises an eyebrow at him curiously.

Jihoon gestures to the cauldron in front of them when he senses a question about to be asked by Jinyoung and the latter doesn’t miss this subtle change, shooting him a slow smirk before attending to the potion. Jinyoung fulfils the last instruction on the textbook, stirring the potion accordingly.

They both watch, side by side, as the potion slowly appears as a pale shade of lilac briefly before flicking into a colourless liquid…or as clear as it can be. There’s hints of lilac when Jihoon peers at the corners but he shrugs it off. The professor isn’t going to dock points off for trying their best and on the brighter side, at least, the cauldron didn’t blow up.

Predictably, their efforts were rewarded as second best in the classroom and Jihoon shoots a look of gratitude at Jinyoung for doing his best in following the recipe of the potion. The first place goes to a pair of Ravenclaws who were grinning in elation. Polite applause follows and the professor shushes them with a reminder to write a reflection essay on today’s lesson, to be handed in by next lesson which to Jihoon’s relief is next week.

Class is dismissed and Jihoon waves a goodbye to Jinyoung, pulls a face at Woojin when he tries to come near him right after they leave the classroom. He’s in the middle of shoving Woojin away when he notices a familiar figure waiting outside.

“Daniel!” Woojin calls out. He slides a smug look towards dumbstruck Jihoon by his side and steps forward to greet Daniel with a fist bump. Daniel brightens at the sight of the two and chuckles heartily when Woojin indulges him in a conversation about Quidditch, lightly chiding Daniel’s nerve for booking the field and laments about Jonghyun drilling his ass.

“Wooj, I have something to talk to Jihoon about. Is it okay if we catch you later?” Daniel interrupts in the middle of Woojin’s sentence, something about killing himself with a bludger if Jonghyun continues his regime.

Woojin raises his eyebrows before rearranging his expression into something neutral but Jihoon knows his best friend for long enough to see the amusement lined in his eyes. Jihoon inwardly groans, knowing that he’ll be in for an interrogation later on and is already planning to hex Woojin off to mind his own business.

“Sure, no problem.” Woojin turns to Jihoon, patting his back, simultaneously pushing him towards Daniel. Jihoon stumbles forward ungracefully and he only manages to catch his step when Daniel clutches onto his arm to right him. There’s something twinkling in Woojin’s eyes, Jihoon’s tired of it. “See you two later!”

As Woojin’s footsteps pitter away, Jihoon dreads the moment he looks up…and when he does, he’s filled with the strongest urge to just fall and blend into the cement on the ground.

Daniel’s eyes are earnest, with a small smile on his lips. His gaze flits downwards and then, they both realise that Daniel is still holding onto Jihoon. He immediately lets go, but not before making sure that Jihoon’s okay. The effort sends a jolt down Jihoon’s spine, clenching his heart in a warm tug.

Ugh.

Jihoon turns away and walks towards the direction of the dungeons. It’s their routine every time. Well it’s Jihoon’s. He would go down to the dungeons to pick up some food and meet Daniel at the corner of the library, near the Restricted section where no one goes to because rarely anyone has access to a book there. His footsteps come to a halt when he realises that there’s no warm body next to him and he swivels around to find Daniel still staring at his own feet.

He inches closer to the other boy, nudging him. Jihoon mouths his question at Daniel, every syllable properly enunciated with a prominent pucker of his lips. _What’s wrong?_

Daniel stares at him for a second before shaking his head and chuckling away to himself like he found a self-indulgent joke written on Jihoon’s face. Tilting his head at Jihoon, his bottom lip is tugged into his mouth in an obvious wrath of nerves. Jihoon is further perplexed and he nudges Daniel harder.

“Um, would you like to sit with me?”

Jihoon narrows his eyes at Daniel, takes out his goddamn parchment and writes across it. _I AM sitting next to you in the library. Where the fuck else would I be???_

Daniel reads it and laughs, all the nervousness leaving his face immediately and it eases Jihoon’s heart when he looks back at him with a proper, soft smile.

“I mean, sit with me in the Great Hall for lunch.”

The words linger in the air and Jihoon’s eyes widen in blatant realisation that Daniel is actually serious. He’s genuinely and sincerely asking Jihoon to sit with him at the Hufflepuff table. In front of everyone. In front of his Slytherin mates. In front of his Hufflepuff mates. In front of the whole school.

If Jihoon could make a sound, he’d squeak now out of perplexity and anxiety and surprise. It shouldn’t be a surprise though, it’s totally like Daniel to suggest something like this. It’s so utterly like Daniel to think that there’s no harm in doing so, he probably sees the world as sunshine yellow light. He has such a golden heart that it pains Jihoon sometimes. Maybe what Jihoon is surprised by is that Daniel actually thinks that Jihoon would say yes.

_Oh. Okay. Sure._

Daniel’s eyes skim over the short answer on the parchment and his eyes light up, outliving the sun behind them.

So maybe, Jihoon does say yes and it’s only because he wants to keep the warmth next to him. And maybe, he doesn’t feel too afraid when he’s with Daniel. There’s some sanity in the other boy’s presence, Jihoon’s attuned to it and he feels stable.

The depth of his decision truly dwells on him when Jihoon walks into the Great Hall, arms swinging side by side with Daniel, barely touching, barely breathing. And the whole dining hall turns to look at them and takes a double glance because it’s _Park Jihoon, the lip lock jinxed idiot._

Jihoon immediately ducks his head, feeling so self-conscious by the blunt stares. He doesn’t even dare to lift his head to glance at the Slytherin table and the looks of betrayal flashing on his friends as he follows Daniel to the Hufflepuff table in between the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors.

Barely concealed whispers follow him throughout and he blocks them out as much as he can, finding solace in Daniel’s back. The latter turns to Jihoon with a smile; it’s unflinching ever since Jihoon said yes. He gestures to the seat on the bench, signalling for Jihoon to take a seat first. Jihoon can feel the halt of breath in the air and he seems to be holding his as well when he slowly crosses his legs over the bench and finally settles down at the Hufflepuff table.

The table is bustling with loud, uninterrupted chatter and they barely bat an eyelash at the sight of Jihoon, emerald robes and tie and all. All the exaggeration seems to be for nothing as the other house tables have returned to their meals as well, effectively ignoring Jihoon. He turns to see Daniel still smiling to himself and buttering a piece of toast.

_So…it seems like no one is about to neck me after all._

Jihoon pushes the parchment under Daniel’s nose and the latter laughs. “It’s a good thing, right?” His eyes are twinkling and when Jihoon looks closely, he realises that Daniel’s starting to _smirk_ at him, the upward pull of his lips.

_I’m glad your presence alone terrorises the rest to not try anything._

“I don’t think it’s me.” Daniel shrugs as Jihoon tentatively scoops a spoonful of pudding. “It has indeed been more than a week now. They’re bound to be tired of it.”

_Well, they’re not the only ones._

Daniel hums absentmindedly and Jihoon thinks that the conversation has ended there so he indulges in a few fried chicken drumsticks. He can _feel_ his stomach growling at the sight of food. The scent alone is dizzying Jihoon and he regrets staying away from the Great Hall this long. He hasn’t had a proper meal for a week, relying on snacks and small food to munch on in the library.

One time, one of the house elves tried to push a plate of sausages and mashed potatoes into his hands and it took every bit of Jihoon’s will to push it back in rejection. It definitely broke the house elf’s heart but Jihoon couldn’t do anything about it. There’s no way he could sneak a whole plate into the library without getting a detention at some point for _dirtying_ the library.

So, Jihoon marvels at the sight of the food, never-ending, and digs in like he’s been starved for weeks. Jihoon’s pretty sure that there’s a few disgusted glances directed at him but he’s sitting at the _Hufflepuff_ table with _Daniel._ He’s beyond caring.

He’s on his third drumstick, licking away the grease on his fingers when Daniel says, “Any luck on kissing the lucky one?”

Jihoon sputters, accidentally biting his finger and winces at the red marring his skin. He stares dumbly at his finger, silently cursing himself over and over. Daniel quirks an eyebrow at him questioningly, clearly waiting for Jihoon to write his answer down but the latter is still staring dumbly at the bite mark on his finger, a consequence of his stupidity. He almost wishes it scars to prove that at some point of his life here in Hogwarts, Jihoon has been stupid enough to bite himself at the expense of Daniel’s similarly very stupid question aimed at him.

Picking up his quill, Jihoon tries not to tremble as he writes his reply. _No._

Jihoon’s aware that a mere shake of his head would suffice but he can’t look at Daniel, preferring to fixate his gaze on his tainted parchment.

Daniel is humming again, driving Jihoon to the edge of crazy. “Why not? I’m afraid that you might enjoy being mute after all.”

Jihoon snorts. _And if I do?_

Daniel leans forward, resting his cheek against the palm of his hand, staring directly at Jihoon. It’s making him feel slightly more disconcerted and he wills himself to look away.

“Then, I can’t find it fun anymore to tease you.”

The oddest thing about that is Daniel has rarely teased Jihoon on the jinx but here he is, jesting about it. Daniel is laughing, clear and ringing in Jihoon’s ears while the latter is mostly transfixed by the sound rather than his words.

_You’re a prick._ Jihoon pauses. _And I hate you._

“You don’t,” Daniel says airily. “If you do, you wouldn’t be sitting here at the Hufflepuff table.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes, _to that, I can accuse you of putting me under Imperius._

“But I haven’t.”

_Haven’t? So you will?_

Now, it’s Daniel’s turn to roll his eyes at Jihoon. Ignoring Jihoon’s reply, he continues without the hint of a teasing lilt to his voice anymore, “But it’s been a week, Ji. Don’t you want to do anything about it?”

Jihoon shrugs, it’s his go-to answer nowadays when people have gotten over their ten minutes of humiliating him and decided to ask the one and only question regarding the situation; has he considered ending his suffering by kissing the One? It surprises Jihoon too that he’s not as impulsive and desperate as he thought, he sort of has grown accustomed to the silence by now. Odd, considering that Jihoon lives his life through voicing out his breakdowns over the littlest matters every single drama, adding onto his title of being melodramatic at best.

Maybe, this is for the better, he does need a lesson or two after all.

But, still, _fuck_ Woojin for doing this to him.

“Is it really that horrible?” Daniel says so softly, Jihoon barely heard it over the normal chitter-chatter of the Great Hall. The concern is further embedded in the pursing of his lips, as he looks over at Jihoon. His plate is clean and he makes no move to eat anymore whilst Jihoon is in the middle of piling sponge cake on his.

It sucks that Jihoon can’t say anything (besides the obvious), he stares down at his plate, trying not to flinch under Daniel’s stare. He _wishes_ he could say something because he supposes, it’s what Daniel deserves after all he has done for him. He’s the only one who had taken the liberty of making sure Jihoon’s alright, coping with his classes and he even asked the whole entirety of his house to _not_ add salt to the already reddening wound.

Jihoon parts his lips, uncertain of how he’d even go about this. A few minutes must have passed and Jihoon probably looks like an imbecile, opening and closing his mouth. Daniel senses the hesitance and brushes over it cheerily.

“It’s okay! You don’t owe it to tell me,” which makes Jihoon feel supremely like a fucking asshole friend. He risks a glance at Daniel to see a forced smile on his face and his heart plummets at the plain _hollowness_ of it. He’s never seen such a smile plastered on Daniel and he hates how he’s the first to be on the receiving end.

“I just wish the best for you,” Daniel ultimately says. Then, he sighs, his voice lowering down to an almost-whisper. “I kind of missed your voice too.”

_Fuck._ Jihoon shuts his eyes and feels the bile rising in his throat. The thought of just ending it crosses his mind once more, not for the first time ever since, but a quick getaway to the reminder of _who_ it is immediately destroys every inkling of will he ever had. Jihoon nods primly, and mouths _thank you_ to Daniel because he is thankful. He’s undeserving of such patience and consideration, and he’s thankful that Daniel is that great of a friend to stick by him nonetheless.

Jihoon opens his eyes, casting them downwards on his plate. He can’t bring himself to look up at Daniel in fear of the sight of disappointment. A gasp hitches in his throat and the frown he had been wearing slowly slips away into a small, surprised smile.

His smile isn’t as crooked as the one on his plate, made out of different coloured jellybeans. Jihoon chuckles silently, his heart aching painfully at the mixture of emotions. He does risk looking up this time to see Daniel smiling at him, softly and so understanding and he just wants to…

Daniel reaches over to grab a jellybean and passes it to Jihoon, the latter taking it in an almost daze. He squints at the dusty white colour of his sweet, racking through his brains to remember the flavour whilst Daniel picks one up for himself. It’s a deep green, close to the colour of Jihoon’s tie and when his gaze flickers between the jellybean pinched between Daniel’s fingers and his tie, he sees the clear knowing smile on Daniel’s face, confirming that the other boy picked it up just because of _that._

“Cheers!” Daniel tips the jellybean forward, lightly tapping against Jihoon’s. “Here’s to hoping Woojin takes pity on you soon enough.”

Jihoon’s smile grows into a grin and then, he mirrors Daniel’s actions; dropping the jellybean in his mouth. Once his teeth sinks in on the sweet, his smile sours and he clenches his eyes shut at the _horrible_ taste on his tongue. He scrambles to spit it out and all this while, he can hear Daniel’s sonorous laughter ringing in his ears as he chokes back on his urge to vomit everything he’s eaten. Daniel is patting his back encouragingly as Jihoon breathes slowly through his nostrils, swishing his wand at the mess of the jellybean he spat out and effectively vanishing it.

He looks back at Daniel with tears still prickling at the corner of his eyes and sees the concern still lingering in Daniel’s gaze, as if asking _okay?_ Jihoon smiles again, nods softly and the small smile on Daniel’s lips deepens. The warmth of his hand on Jihoon’s back is so radiating, so comfortable and…

Jihoon never wants Daniel to let go.

The world is so awfully bright now, with the swish of yellow prickling into the corners of Jihoon’s eyes everywhere he turns. The Hufflepuff flag reigns above, levitating through the sky, followed by a long line of the students running into the field. The usually quiet and soft-spoken house is screaming in rightful victory, their cheers so high pitched that Jihoon’s sure that the vibrations have affected all of magical kind across the Forbidden Forest.

Though, as Jihoon descends the steps of the bleachers, he can’t seem to fight back the urge to smile when he sees a certain Chaser running around, fist in the air and broom in the other hand. He almost wants to scream over all the noise at him to chide him lightly for not taking care of his beloved Firebolt properly but the clear lack of voice stands as an obstacle in his way of his attempt of teasing Daniel.

Woojin notices this, as he comes to a stop next to Jihoon at a level where they can see the entirety of the Quidditch field, the mess the match has wrecked upon it. Jihoon’s still staring at the Hufflepuff team, barely registering the nudging from passing sullen Gryffindors. There’s something mesmerising about the way Daniel carries the team, the way they all hang onto his words, the way the emotions flicker on his face – happiness, determination, pride.

Jihoon may be a Slytherin and he should be supporting his house, he knows, but just for the sake of keeping that look on Daniel’s face; the swell of his elated pink cheeks, the crinkles of his eyes, the lovely stretch of his smile, he would give the Cup over to him willingly.

“Seems like the badgers have an actual chance at winning this time round,” Woojin makes an observation. Jihoon almost forgot that he’s standing to a Quidditch player of _his_ house. He turns towards Woojin, expecting envy and a hard look of determination but all he sees is…an amicable expression. It’s neither here nor there and Jihoon is fairly surprised. Woojin raises his eyebrow at Jihoon, like as if he can survey the thoughts Jihoon had. Perhaps, he misjudged his best friend.

“Anyway, how about a kiss of victory? I’m sure h—! ”

Woojin is now sputtering, slicking the palm of Jihoon’s hand with spit. Jihoon blanches back, sneering at his best friend and wiping his hand on Woojin’s robes in barely concealed disgust. Woojin is laughing openly at him, wiping his own mouth shamelessly.

Jihoon glares at Woojin briefly, ignoring the way his eyes are twinkling in mirth, and leaves him behind to rush down the steps, reaching the pitch. He’s almost flocked over by a group of Hufflepuffs running around in circles, singing a song of victory. Jihoon chuckles to himself, striding towards the center where the Hufflepuff team resides. They’re still talking amongst themselves and he sees that they are unwilling to leave the field, still donning their gear and uniform proudly.

He shyly lingers at the sidelines, peering around for the light-browned Chaser, and surprising himself when he turns around to see Daniel heading straight towards him, gaze fixated on him alone. Long legs, beads of perspiration running down his temples, a light smirk on his lips. Jihoon feels shot in the heart.

Jihoon mouths a soft, dazed _hey_ once Daniel’s close enough to read his lips and his gaze on Jihoon’s lips lingers a second longer. Or not. Jihoon doesn’t know, he can’t tell anything anymore. All he knows is that he can’t seem to breathe, all he smells is cleanly cut grass, sweat and mud. Yet, underneath all that, once Daniel’s standing directly in front of him, Jihoon can still detect the undeniable signature scent Daniel has every single time he’s in his presence; peppermint.

“Typical of you to support the house against Gryffindors,” Daniel teases, knocking lightly at Jihoon’s shoulder. His eyes say otherwise, there’s a hint of gratitude and a whole lot of happiness that Jihoon basks in the presence of. He shines alone without the sun, Jihoon thinks, and Daniel’s a light on his own.

Jihoon’s heart clenches painfully in reminder.

Jihoon doesn’t have any parchment on him surprisingly so he takes his wand out, pursing his lips as he contemplates using the spell. He is doubtful it’d work so he mutters wordlessly and gets the shock of his life when a light sparkles at the end of his wand, indicating that it did work. He suppresses the squeal of glee and lifts his wand to lightly write in the air, eyes lighting up at the sight of his words glowing under the daylight.

Daniel watches, eyes widened in awe, mouth parted as Jihoon writes, so sincerely. _I came to support you._

The look of awe simmers to an expression of something else entirely, a look that Jihoon can’t properly decipher. Shyness? Happiness? Though Jihoon suspects that Daniel is riding on cloud nine, nothing today can bring him down. It’s such a sweet expression that Jihoon indulges in, unable to stop himself from smiling widely at Daniel, eyes glittering.

“Well,” Daniel says and Jihoon realises that he’s at a _loss for words._ Jihoon snorts. “I—um.” Daniel tries again and he reaches forward to smack Jihoon on his arm when the latter is laughing soundlessly at him. The tips of Daniel’s ears are reddening and soon enough, his cheeks are painted pink too. He presses his lips together, chuckling when he can’t seem to control the urge. “Thank you?”

Jihoon is still laughing and he nods, writing, _you’re welcome._

“We’re crushing you at the next game,” Daniel points out, raising his eyebrows as if challenging Jihoon to fight back with unwavering pride for his house, Slytherin.

But what Daniel doesn’t know is that Jihoon doesn’t care at all.

Jihoon shrugs, _Hufflepuff can win the house cup for all I care._ He pauses as the words slowly dissipate in tiny fireworks and fights back the laughter threatening to bubble up at the sight of disbelief on Daniel’s face. _Like anyone has the potential to win against you._

Jihoon mostly meant that personally as in _Daniel alone_ but he guesses that his words are open to interpret that it’s to include the Hufflepuff team in general. He doesn’t make any move to amend his words, to make his point because he’s a fucking coward. He does swivel around to gather Daniel’s reaction and the other boy stares at the disappearing words with an indescribable expression on his face. Slowly, his eyebrows tighten together in a frown, something that Jihoon didn’t expect before Daniel shakes his head and smiles softly at him in return.

“Don’t let Woojin see that,” Daniel teases again, but his voice sounds a little pinched like his heart isn’t in it. Daniel hesitates, looking down at Jihoon’s hand before slowly slipping his fingers around his small wrist lightly. “Do you… uh… do you want to join us later? To celebrate the win?”

Jihoon blinks at that. Why does Daniel look so…nervous? He’s bitting down on his lip, eyes flickering between Jihoon’s face and his wrist in a wave of anxiety. The thought of joining the Hufflepuffs isn’t really comforting and while he _wants_ to be with Daniel, the idea of being surrounded by a never-ending crowd, a noisy environment where he’s not exactly included, it’s not something Jihoon longs for.

So he smiles apologetically at Daniel. _I have Charms homework and a test to study for. You know how shitty it is for me now so I have to maximise my time._ Jihoon is faintly aware that he’s blabbering but he can’t stop the sinking feeling in his gut. _Congratulations though, Niel. I haven’t said it but you deserve this._

Daniel nods in understanding but his eyes have lost a bit of the light and he lets go of Jihoon. The latter winces at the loss of warmth and reaches upwards to tug down on his Slytherin scarf, nerves getting the best of him. He can’t seem to stop feeling like he just said something wrong, made a mistake, is going to regret it later but isn’t that his nature? Jihoon’s so used to regretting his decisions, he’s currently suffering through one; the stupid determination to keep mute rather than…rather than…

Merlin, Jihoon is such a coward that he’s sure even Salazar Slytherin himself is shaking his head at him in disappointment.

“Thank you,” Daniel says and it’s not as enthusiastic as Jihoon had envisioned.

The other boy lifts his hand and then, like he’s going through some sort of internal conflict, he drops it, stepping back. Jihoon nods because he doesn’t know what else to say, and smiles at him reassuringly. He waves at Daniel, then turns to congratulate the Hufflepuff team with a pair of thumbs up sign at them. They are fairly surprised but they grin at him, the euphoria taking over rather than the confusion of seeing a Slytherin egging them on. Jihoon slowly slips away once Daniel swivels around to rejoin his team in a crushing hug with mutters of cheers.

With every step Jihoon takes back to the castle, he can feel the heaviness settling in his heart and he can’t find a word to describe it other than plainly stupidity. His own stupidity standing in his way of getting what he wants. It’s not a comforting thought, not something that makes he want to change his fate either because Jihoon’s apparently a masochist and he chooses to stay this way.

The roars of victory still haunt him at the back of his head when he descends to the dungeons, the face of Daniel’s happiness swiftly replaced by an odd look when Jihoon said no. The once butterflies of his heart now have their wings cut off by _himself._

The house serpent greets Jihoon, almost tauntingly at his cowardice and he reels back the urge to yell only to realise he can’t even do that.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Jihoon’s granted access after scrawling the password visibly in the air, he’s aware it’s a risk but there’s literally no one down in the dungeons and no one rarely lurks around here. The only people to lurk around here are undoubtedly Slytherins so beats the purpose of any secrecy. He trudges into the common room, barely registering that all of his friends are circled on the floor by the fire, playing a game of Exploding Snap.

They raise their heads in curiosity before nodding at him in greeting. Jinyoung looks like he has something to say but Jihoon smiles at him, though he’s sure it’s a grimace more than anything, and swiftly crosses the threshold to head into the dormitory. Not like it’d help to shut them out, seeing as they all have access to the dormitory too so they can barge in and disturb Jihoon if they’d like. Though, Jihoon’s sure that his face must have relayed something so pained that none of them actually came in to tease him.

Woojin does, however, barge in at some point (Jihoon was counting down till he does and he took approximately fifteen minutes which was record breaking!) and plunges himself down at the foot of Jihoon’s bed.

Jihoon is in the middle of tackling his Charms homework, swirling his wand around to make form of the spell they’ve been taught in class. It has not been formed fully yet, his wand is aimed at the glass of water by his bedside. With every quirk of his wrist, a pray to the Gods above and a soundless utter of the spell, the water quivers like it’s about to diminish as intended but fails to do so. Jihoon sighs and turns around to acknowledge Woojin’s presence seeing as the latter hasn’t said anything when he came in which was shocking.

“Is this not forcing you to do something about it?” Woojin voices out when Jihoon looks at him. There’s a pinched look on his face like he’s torn in between worry and confusion. “I’m not sure how your stubbornness has outlived your frustration.”

Jihoon snickers, leave it to Woojin to insult him as he relays his thoughts of concern as a friend. He grabs the parchment by his bedside and dips the quill into ink before writing his answer, _you’re forgetting my overwhelming courage!_

Woojin reads his reply and frowns deeper, “Have you lost your will to…I don’t know… be a fucking proper wizard or something? How is something this little standing in your way to…” He scrunches his nose up in disgust. “To _be happy._ ” Woojin shudders, “Ugh. I can’t believe you made me resort to saying such icky shit.”

Jihoon looks at him, amused. _You can’t be entirely certain that it’ll end up happy,_ Jihoon points out and he does literally point at his sentence with the end of his quill, jabbing at the words a few times to emphasise his point. Woojin rolls his eyes at him, clearly more frustrated about the path Jihoon has taken.

“You can’t be serious,” Woojin says. When Jihoon stares blankly at him, he winces almost as if he’s pained for Jihoon’s stupidity. “You’re seriously going to keep this up just because you don’t want to risk a _kiss_?”

Of course when Woojin puts it simply, it sounds even more ridiculous out loud but this is not only Jihoon’s feelings, it’s…someone else’s too. He relays that on his parchment and shoves it towards Woojin, quirking an eyebrow. He’s not some sort of insensitive asshole, he can’t burden someone with that kind of confession, it’s so invasive. He’s a person of simplicity; taking them out on Hogsmeade dates, lightly wooing them with pints of Butterbeer and a soft peck on the cheek to seal their heart. He’s not going to fucking kiss them on the mouth and _then,_ be able to talk his feelings out. It’s so fucking backwards.

But then, what if it doesn’t even end happily? Jihoon can’t even begin to think about the aftermath when it doesn’t go the way he wants, the rejection, the mere heartbreak.

Needless to say, Woojin is more of an asshole to put Jihoon on blast like that.

“I’m not going to take it off you, y’know,” Woojin says stubbornly and fiercely with his arms crossed.

Okay, cross that out. Woojin’s a fucking evil bastard.

Jihoon gives up at this point and he writes in capital letters messily across the parchment, unable to conceal the fury he feels. _FINE, LET ME FUCKING SUFFER FOREVER AND BE DOWNGRADED TO A SQUIB. YOU PRICK._

Woojin shrugs, his gaze still fierce and so… so… Merlin, Jihoon wants to _punch_ him. And he almost does so, clenching his fists, rearing himself for the physical violence he’s about to do and the expulsion that’ll follow thereafter when the door to the dormitory swings open to reveal one of their seniors, Ong Seongwu.

Jihoon sits upright, entirely self-conscious at the sudden intrusion. He’s faintly aware that he’s still clothed in his Slytherin uniform rather than donning the usual pyjamas he’d wear once he’s back in the dormitory. Still, Jihoon still feels tense and he raises his eyebrows at his senior questioningly.

He does know Seongwu well enough to know that the latter has no ounce of shame and this is further confirmed by the way he waltzes into the dormitory like it’s a normal, habitual act he does every day. He takes a seat on the four-poster bed across Jihoon’s – it’s Donghyuck’s— and smiles at him unnervingly so.

“Why are you here?” Woojin voices the question that’s been on Jihoon’s mind ever since the door has been banged open to reveal his senior’s pointy face.

“That’s no way to greet a senior,” Seongwu clicks his tongue disapprovingly. Woojin rolls his eyes again. The pair stares blankly at Seongwu and as it seems that he’s not going to get a different greeting, he huffs, annoyed. His eyes flicker over to Jihoon, a slow smirk growing on his lips and Jihoon doesn’t like where this is going to go.

“So we haven’t talked ever since you got hexed.” Seongwu smirks and then, adds thoughtfully. “I suppose _you_ can’t talk but!” Seongwu continues cheerily. “You’ve been ignoring everyone. How are you?”

Jihoon tries his best to detect any trap but Seongwu is waiting for his answer, his face so expectant. He scrunches his nose, frowning as he writes his reply tentatively, _I’m okay?_

Seongwu reads this and nods. “Good to hear!” He leans forward, eyes sparkling and Jihoon doesn’t really like this at all. “I heard from a little bird that your heart’s desire is a certain, very _very_ good-looking—”

Woojin cuts across his sentence and Jihoon lets out the bated breath he’s been holding in. He doesn’t want to resort to physical violence, especially not with such a respected pureblood. He should have known that he’s in the house of _snakes_ and he’s not safe here, he’s not safe himself.

“Okay!” Woojin interrupts and Seongwu’s eyes are still glistening with amusement. “If you’re here to taunt Jihoon, you’re…” Woojin counts the days on his fingers, almost chokes on the realisation and turns around to face Jihoon fully. He winces at the sudden attention and cowers at Woojin when he exclaims in utter shock, “ _Ten days late?!_ ”

Jihoon’s eyes are darting elsewhere and he writes across his parchment, feeling the redness creep up his neck, _fuck you._

Woojin stares at him.

“Well, lucky for you,” Seongwu pipes up from his position on the four-poster bed he’s been invading. He’s now leaning back on it like he’s two seconds away from sprawling his body across it to get more comfortable. Jihoon wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that, he just hopes that Donghyuck washes his sheets regularly. Seongwu continues on, the tone of his voice oddly cheerful, “Daniel is looking for you!”

Jihoon shoots up immediately at the mention of his name. Then, he turns and stomps over to Donghyuck’s bed, standing over Seongwu and crossing his arms. He intends to shout but he is reminded painfully that he has no fucking voice to hold over Seongwu so he _accios_ his parchment and scribbles on it hastily.

_What the FUCK are you playing at?_

Seongwu shrugs, “I’m not playing at anything. I’m telling the truth.” He tilts his head sideways, jerking his chin towards the door. “Go check it for yourself. I hope the Slytherins aren’t eating him alive.”

Woojin’s eyes widen, “You _let_ him in?!”

Seongwu is still smirking, that fuck. “I didn’t. I think one of your friends did.” Jihoon is glaring at him now, he regrets his decision of not punching him, and he waves it away so casually, “He’s just a lone Hufflepuff and he’s drunk. I don’t think he’ll remember being here.”

_Drunk?_ Jihoon mouths questioningly and turns around to glance at Woojin briefly to share a look of curiosity. Seongwu nods, affirming, “Yep. Go on, don’t make your Prince Charming wait.” Jihoon ignores the teasing lilt to Seongwu’s voice for his sake and hesitantly walks out of the dormitory with Woojin in tow.

Well. Seongwu wasn’t wrong definitely.

Daniel’s sitting on the sofa, clutching an emerald cushion to his chest as he listens raptly to something Jinyoung’s saying. Jihoon can only imagine in horror of what Jinyoung’s dragging Daniel into but the Hufflepuff doesn’t seem to mind. At the sound of their entrance, their heads whip around and a smile breaks out on Daniel’s face, so bright and dazed and unaware.

Jihoon’s heart throbs achingly.

“Daniel!” Woojin exclaims. He glances at Jihoon before striding towards Daniel, patting his shoulder as his way of greeting him. “What are you doing here? I thought you’re having a celebratory party at the Hufflepuff common room.”

“We were! We _are._ ” Daniel confirms cheerfully. His eyes are blinding, his syllables are slightly slurry. Jihoon inches closer, worried. “I just want to talk to Jihoon.” He turns properly to face Jihoon now, still smiling, “I want to talk to _you_ ,” he repeats, addressing Jihoon.

Jihoon gnaws lightly on the inside of his cheek and watches the faces of his friends all looking at him, awaiting for his decision. He’s so glad that none of them has decided to humiliate him or the drunk Hufflepuff sitting in their common room. Perhaps, he has misjudged his friends a little too cruelly. He nods at them, tilting his head sideways, indicating for them to leave the pair alone. Slowly, everyone raises to their feet and leave to respect Jihoon’s decision. If they didn’t know then, Jihoon thinks, they’d surely have an inkling by now.

Though, if Seongwu knows, then he guesses that everyone knows. That Slytherin has no filter for his mouth and he’s a man of gossip. Jihoon realises gravely.

Woojin hesitates on his way out, sharing a look with Jihoon that reminds him that this is his best friend and despite how terrible he is about the lip lock jinx, he still is worried about him. Jihoon shakes his head at Woojin, trying to share a look of reassurance even though his insides are all jumbled up and he’s shaking from the attempt to _not_ tremble.

“It’ll be okay,” Woojin ends up saying and Jihoon tries not to laugh at the overbearing concern Woojin is displaying because fifteen minutes ago, they were fighting over Jihoon being a damn coward. Now, he’s doing his job as his best friend. Jihoon nods at him, pressing his lips together, and watches him leave him alone with Daniel. In the Slytherin common room.

Jihoon waves his wand, casting a _muffliato_ soundlessly to further ensure that he’s truly left alone but as he turns back to Daniel lounging lazily on the sofa, he feels the bile of regret. As per usual.

Thinking about it, Jihoon doesn’t think he has ever seen Daniel this drunk. Sure, Hogwarts has its fair share of secret parties in the room of requirement where at some point, a bottle or two bottles of firewhisky have made their way into the party. Firewhisky is banned in Hogwarts naturally since none of them are of age to drink it but there’s always been ways to sneak it in and let’s just say, that first night wasn’t one of Jihoon’s finest. He’s never been the best at holding his alcohol and everyone especially Daniel knows that, seeing how he was the one nursing Jihoon through a damn hangover during that party. He’s better off sipping muggle wine when his parents aren’t looking.

Daniel, however, is such a natural at holding his alcohol. He knows that the Hufflepuff _fancies_ a bit of alcohol every now and then, ever since he’s been exposed to it accidentally at a Christmas party. Jihoon has seen it firsthand at parties where he thought he’d be dragging the Hufflepuff around after a whole bottle but his gut is stronger than that. Being doused in firewhisky is second nature to Daniel so to see him slurring his words and looking at Jihoon all dazed, he must have been drinking non-stop.

Jihoon wonders how much he has been drinking. He takes in the flushed cheeks and the airy glaze over Daniel’s irises, the way they easily slip in and out of focus. Merlin, he must’ve been taking it hard because Jihoon knows that Daniel has a higher tolerance, more so than anyone else that is not his parents.

The concern spreads throughout, his lips turning into a frown. He fishes around in his pockets and pulls out a folded piece of parchment. It’s sad that it’s become habitual at this point (his mind is screaming _one whole week and a half! Ten entire days of silence!_ ). He feels Daniel’s eyes sliding towards the parchment in Jihoon’s hold, a crease embedded in the middle of his eyebrows.

Jihoon gingerly takes a seat on the couch, piling distance between them. He scribbles on the parchment, _what’s up?_

Not his best but looking sideways at Daniel, he figures that it’s less likely that the latter will remember anything from this.

Instead of answering Jihoon’s question, his hand reaches forward, shoving the parchment that Jihoon’s been holding up for him to read away. Daniel grumbles, “I don’t want to read your answers anymore. I want to _hear_ you.”

Jihoon gapes like a goldfish, uncertain of what to do.

Daniel doesn’t take mind, he continues on. “I want to know, Jihoon.” He sighs deeply, his eyes fluttering closed for a brief second. Then, he shoots names out, mentally torturing Jihoon with his obliviousness. “Is it _Woojin?_ Is it Ong? Is it the head boy…Minhyun? I think that’s his name.”

Jihoon stares in utter shock at Daniel and the way he’s blabbering. He’s too drunk to talk this much and yet here he is, listing down his romantic prospects. Jihoon isn’t sure if he’s unnerved by the fact that Daniel thinks it’s Woojin or that Daniel actually thought through about this though Jihoon thinks that he’s just merely sprouting any name that comes to mind, seeing how drunk he is.

And Daniel hasn’t stopped.

“Is it that… that guy you said is attractive?” Daniel has his eyes opened and there’s a look of determination on his face. “Donghan?” Jihoon jolts at the sudden mention of him. “Is that it? It’s him?”

Jihoon is trembling as he reaches for the parchment and writes, _none of them._

Daniel flickers his gaze to the answer Jihoon has written and groans. He _groans_ in frustration and slams his hands on his lap like an overgrown child. If Jihoon wasn’t shaking from the fear and anxiety, he’d be chuckling at Daniel’s drunken behaviour.

The other boy mutters something to himself and when Jihoon couldn’t catch it, he nudges Daniel harder, urging him to repeat what he said. Daniel looks up at him and Jihoon is almost knocked back by the sudden clarity in his brown irises, the intensity of his gaze. Jihoon’s eyes flit downwards, indulging in the sheer pink dusting Daniel’s cheeks due to his drunken state, drifting down and down to the swell of his upper lip.

Fuck.

“I hate this.” Daniel repeats. Jihoon frowns deeper, and moves to write his concern when Daniel continues without much prompting. It seems like he’s been building up to say this all night and now that he has liquid courage, he’s able to do it, staring straight at Jihoon with hurt flickering in his eyes every now and then.

“I hate how much I want to kiss you but I _can’t_ because… because you’ve been hexed and I am too scared to find out what it’d mean after,” Daniel exhales and he presses the heel of his hand against his eyes, rubbing vigorously in clear upset. He mellows down and says so softly that it pains Jihoon’s heart even more, “I like you. Jihoon, I like _you._ ”

The confession strips Jihoon of his ability to breathe and he stares…he stares longingly at Daniel’s lips. He’s teetering on the edge and he wants to jump, he wants to _drown_. Jihoon leans forward and it must have caught Daniel by surprise because he inches back instinctively but then realising something, he freezes. Jihoon hesitates because Daniel _did_ confess to him right?

Or did he say something so nonsensical under the stupor of alcohol? That can’t be it, Jihoon thinks, he can’t say such things when he’s drunk. That’s too sincere for someone, even a Slytherin. All Jihoon can think of is his words, the pain laced underneath, the fucking influence of the firewhisky in every breath Daniel exhales.

Jihoon is internally conflicted and is trying to sort it out when Daniel leans back into him, pressing his thighs against Jihoon’s. The warmth sends a shudder down Jihoon’s spine and he looks up, his eyes searching Daniel’s. His heart gives a regrettable lurch at the sight because now he can’t back down at the way how round and utterly stunning Daniel’s irises look in the soft, warm glow of the fire. He’s been this close to Daniel a million times, has perfected the art of being okay every single time but this time, just this time, his heart betrays.

Jihoon wishes, not for the first time, for a spell to shut his heart up for good.

Daniel’s drunk, he’s just saying all of these and he doesn’t know. He’ll wake up the next morning blissfully unaware while Jihoon’s world has been tilted for Merlin knows how long.

Jihoon stares at the parchment in his lap, thinking over all the words he wants to say, the million ways he could say it, and yet, he is still devoid of the power of his voice. He’s so absorbed in the echo of Daniel’s confession that he didn’t feel the other boy inching even closer to him, fingers trailing a crease on his pants.

“ _Jihoon,_ ” Daniel murmurs, his breath hitting directly against Jihoon’s ear and the latter flinches at the chilling shiver striking down his spine in cold revelation. His arms snake around Jihoon’s waist to pull him in and Jihoon is rigid to the bone even when Daniel keeps whispering his name like a drunk man’s mantra into his ear.

He lets go of his breath shudderingly and leans back into Daniel’s embrace. Jihoon hears Daniel humming in content as he rocks both of them back and forth and it hurts Jihoon to be in such a position. His heart is hammering against his chest, he can’t properly relax in fear of the future, he is teetering literally on the edge except Daniel’s arms are here to anchor him to the ground.

Jihoon has never been so, so afraid of the truth.

His head turns slightly to the right, intending to acknowledge Daniel and maybe reach outwardly for the parchment so he can write something on it. Suddenly, Daniel’s hand makes its way to Jihoon’s jaw, cupping his face gently, and the latter finds himself instinctively turning around so he’s in Daniel’s lap. His hands find Daniel’s shoulders, and his gaze fixates upon the other, transfixed in the dreaminess of his irises.

If this is a dream, Jihoon thinks, let him never wake up from it.

Right before he falls into the dream – _is it a dream?_ –, Daniel halts. His breath ghosts over Jihoon’s upper lip, quick and shaky inhales. He whispers and Jihoon can almost _feel_ Daniel’s lips brushing his with every word he says and it is so _tedious, painful, torturous._

“Please don’t talk. Don’t say anything.” Daniel says and Jihoon can faintly hear the shatter of his heart in the distance. His ears are ringing with Daniel’s low-toned voice. “Pretend it’s nothing.”

_What._ The gears of Jihoon’s mind are slowly rocking through the words Daniel has said, trying to make sense and before he can fully decipher the pain behind Daniel’s words, he finds that his heart is beating too rapidly, the distance between them is closing too fast, Daniel… _Daniel._

That’s when Daniel’s eyes flutter close and his lips meet Jihoon’s in a single breath.

Daniel’s lips are hesitant like he’s aware of every nerve striking on Jihoon’s skin and he’s trying to murmur the calm into his mouth but Jihoon tilts his head, deepening the kiss. The Hufflepuff tastes like scorched fire with a tang of peppermint, it’s addicting, burning every kiss and Jihoon chases after it. Daniel whimpers, his fingers tightening on Jihoon’s jaw. They both surrender to the wrath of their heart’s hidden desires, striking lightning to the night.

Jihoon pulls back, breathing hard against Daniel’s upper lip. His forehead knocks against Daniel’s lightly as the latter inhales deeply, eyes still closed. Jihoon trails a finger across Daniel’s swollen mouth, his eyes blazing at the sight.

He’s been up close with the other boy countlessly in injury, in the darkest nights where one is unable to sleep (Jihoon loves sneaking up to the Hufflepuff common room during Christmas breaks), in every way imaginable for their friendship. And not once has Jihoon’s heart failed to stutter at the beauty of Daniel’s features; the sweet pout of his mouth, the moles perfectly lining up the side of his face, the lovely slanted shape of his eyes even more so when he laughs. The urge to kiss his eyelashes bubbles up in Jihoon and when he finds the courage, rarely so, Daniel moves away from him yet still keeping his arms around Jihoon’s waist, sliding up his back comfortingly.

The distance is too far for Jihoon and he realises with a pang that Daniel is looking elsewhere, fixated on a point beyond Jihoon’s shoulder. When he turns back to Jihoon, he seems so utterly sober and pained that renders Jihoon surprised and at a loss.

“I have to go,” Daniel mumbles and he must have noticed the mix of hurt and shock on Jihoon’s face because he goes on, rushing to explain, “My head…hurts. I’ll see you in the morning?”

Jihoon nods numbly, he can still taste the firewhisky on his tongue. Daniel slips away from, leaving the cold to freeze Jihoon all over again. At the sound of his fading footsteps, the portrait of the house serpent swinging close behind his departure, Jihoon slumps forward, curling his knees inwards to prop his chin against. His heart hasn’t been able to calm down from the moment he stepped into the common room and his eyes found Daniel in the corner.

_“Daniel,”_ the voice croaks out in a soft whimper and it’s been unused for so long that Jihoon can’t remember how it’s supposed to sound like. It doesn’t matter anyway as he hits his head lightly against his folded arms in frustration.

Why does it feel like his heart has been full yet shattered by a single kiss?

He stays there for so long that he can’t see much, the fire fading to burnt wood in the distance, the shadows danced away into oblivion. At some point, Jihoon thought he was dreaming but when he turns around, blinking, he sees the door of his dormitory, the cluttered cards on the floor, the emerald pillow casted away on the side of the couch.. It takes a while for him to gather his strength and when he does, he casts a _lumos_ and laughs at the soft light beaming at the tip of his wand. The light is as weak as him, Jihoon supposes.

The silence has been broken but the boy ran away.

Jihoon doesn’t know but he managed to fall asleep, tangled in his sheets with the curtains drawn close. Once he wakes up, he tastes it; the regrettable decision on his tongue except now— Jihoon almost laughs out loud— he has the voice to complain about it but he doesn’t as of yet. He slumps around, sulks in his bed and slowly, he curls up into a ball. Casting the silencing spell around his bed, he cracks under pressure.

He hasn’t cried in a long time and never over a boy. _Never_ over Daniel.

Kang Daniel is hardly a boy to cry over. He’s the sweetest and kindest person to ever encounter and Jihoon’s that lucky to be of his companion, to be favoured, to be _liked_ (that is, Jihoon thinks bitterly, if the influence of firewhisky wasn’t a strong factor in that confession and it turns out to be true). Jihoon has always wondered about the matters of his heart, wondering how long will it take until it’ll start beating for _someone_ rather than simply for existence. Then, of course, Daniel came along.

It began as a small flame, barely wavering in the pit of his heart. Welcoming and warm, Jihoon hadn’t thought twice about it, merely pinpointed the reason as the comfort Daniel’s presence brings. It’s hard to not feel comfortable around Daniel seeing how considerate and patient he is with everyone. The fact that he’s able to tolerate Jihoon, a fucking _Slytherin_ , still stick by him through the worst tantrums, it’s enough said.

Soon enough, it evolves into a forest fire, setting his insides on fire every single time Daniel brushes his arm against Jihoon’s, every single time Daniel turns around in his seat at the Hufflepuff table merely to shoot Jihoon a soft smile, every single time Daniel runs his fingers down Jihoon’s arm, trailing goosebumps down his skin, and rests his hand against Jihoon’s wrist absentmindedly.

Jihoon remembers it all too clearly like it had been yesterday.

It's when Daniel was in the middle of a Quidditch match – _Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw_ – and instead of focusing on the goal beyond the team, he turned towards the bleachers. Jihoon remembers that his gaze had been searching, darting between faces, passing through all the signs made for the Hufflepuff team or him alone.

Then, it landed on him, Jihoon.

Daniel's face broke out into the biggest grin Jihoon had ever seen, the prime expression of happiness and pleasant surprise, knocking Jihoon's breath out. He barely mustered a smile back, made an attempt to send a tiny wave in greeting. The match was still ongoing and whilst his teammates flew all around him, deeply concentrated on getting that victory, Daniel fixated his smile at Jihoon a few seconds longer. His eyebrow quirked upwards almost teasingly and he winked.

Daniel fucking winked straight at Jihoon.

Then, he chuckled to himself, spinning his broom right back into the game and barely sending a proper Quaffle into the opposition goal. Daniel scored of course, the talent of a Chaser burning through his veins naturally, igniting the Hufflepuff side of the bleachers in extremely loud cheers. Jihoon's heart hasn't calmed down ever since. And that's when he knew. Daniel wasn't just a Hufflepuff senior slash another friend to torment on a normal day basis to him anymore.

It was the beginning of a hopeless crush.

It became so overwhelming that Jihoon purposely stayed away from the other boy, hiding in the washroom to catch his breath and then, catch the sight of his reflection in the mirror. His cheeks are flushed, eyes bright and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop his mind from drifting off to Daniel. It’s always Daniel. Daniel, Daniel, _Daniel._ Daniel whom flies slow and sure on the broom when he’s lazing around in the air but determined and speedy during the fiercest match. Daniel whom smiles at everyone he passes, denting everyone’s hearts. Daniel whom insists on hugs every time they part at the train platform, whether it’s for the Christmas holidays or for the summer. Daniel whom always smells like peppermint, without a fail, it’s a signature scent that overwhelms Jihoon’s nostrils whenever he’s around, a scent that he senses in amormentia, confirming his deepest heart’s desires.

How _could_ Jihoon pretend that nothing happened last night?

The daylight streams though and Jihoon realises, with circles ringing around his eyes, the he has broken through dawn and he didn’t even notice. His thoughts have been so overwhelming, running through his mind and stabbing his heart even more with the memory of last night. With a sigh, the sound of his breath in the air shocks him and he remembers once more that he’s able to talk freely now. With a voice. Because he kissed Daniel.

Or, more accurately, Daniel kissed Jihoon and insisted that it’s nothing.

Jihoon stretches out a yawn and slowly swings his legs over the edge of his bed. He can still hear his housemates stirring in their sleep and he draws the curtains apart, relieved to see that no one is awake. Jihoon is frankly not ready to face any question about last night. He had been lucky enough to sneak into the dormitory and find that everyone had fallen asleep. Now, he’s doubly lucky to be awake early enough to dodge any attention.

He pads softly towards the bathroom and locks the door behind him with a light click. Despite being a wizard, Jihoon still finds calm in doing the tedious, muggle way of showering, he just feels cleaner being scrubbed and slathering soap on rather than casting a cleaning charm over him. It does its trick definitely but Jihoon still feels weird so he relishes in the quiet while standing under the warm water dripping down his back. He chokes back any sob threatening to break out.

No matter how long Jihoon stands under the shower, he still can’t wash away the memory of the kiss, the blood pooling at the shatter of his heart, the heavy throbbing of his head.

Jihoon heads straight down to the Great Hall even though it’s awfully too early and the light follows every step he takes. The Great Hall isn’t bustling as it usually is but it’s also because of the early morning. There’s still a few students, probably taking advantage of the quiet to do some schoolwork (that’s what most of them are doing, Jihoon observes) whilst Jihoon walks over to the Slytherin table. He’s one of the only two there but looking closely at his fellow housemate, the girl is snoring lightly atop folded arms. So it is only him then.

He digs into some pastry, lightly munching and not really feeling that hungry in the first place but he doesn’t know what else to do. His usual hiding place is the library, the sought out corners he’s used to but Daniel knows those and he doesn’t want to see Daniel. Not today, not tomorrow, not until he has figured him out properly.

Jihoon _accios_ his Charms textbook and dives into some homework before the storm.

The whole day becomes a blur; slouching through classes, staring at the words lit up and drifting in the air blearily, nodding absentmindedly to pretend that he understands every word the professors are saying.

Somehow, Jihoon has decided to maintain being mute. He hasn’t said a single word to anyone and when Woojin walks into the classroom, settling down next to Jihoon as usual, Jihoon writes on his parchment which was actually more habitual than intended in hindsight. Anyway, it tricked Woojin into thinking that he’s still suffering through his predicament and actually offered an apologetic smile at him. Jihoon realises that, later on, everyone had thought that he would have done something about it last night given the chance.

Well, they aren’t wrong. Jihoon did have the chance but the rug’s been swept underneath his feet and he’s still falling down a blackhole.

Choosing to keep his voice a secret became more intentional when all of his mates came to him, asking casually about his wellbeing but of course, Jihoon knew better. He merely shook his head, waving their concerns away and scribbled on his parchment to ask them to fuck off which earned him an amused grin in return. At least, they all thought Jihoon’s okay enough to joke around.

And because Jihoon’s a Slytherin, a huge thumping idiot and so incredibly petty, he keeps it up the whole day; slumping through spellwork, continuing to write his answers down on his trusty parchment and maintaining a neutral expression throughout. He almost fooled himself too when he instinctively relies on his wordless spells to defend himself in class.

In his grand scheme of a plan, he ignores Daniel or tries to, really. Jihoon’s body is so attuned to the other’s presence that his eyes automatically find Daniel in the Great Hall at dinner and he gets a jolt when he notes that Daniel’s been sneaking glances at him too. Whenever their eyes meet however, Daniel looks away hastily but not before Jihoon deduces the flash of guilt on his face.

It’s enough for Jihoon to fixate all of his remaining energy on his fury rather than the heartbreak.

Jihoon wonders if he remembers the fire kindling in the background, the quivering hand on his arm, his pliant lips parting for Daniel to deepen the kiss because every single movement, every single detail is committed to memory by now for Jihoon. It haunts him when he shuts his eyes, when he stares off into the distance and his mind drifts into that dangerous territory without warning, when he inhales and exhales simply.

Jihoon’s so out of it, barely stifling his anger, when he gestures a hand to his right, addressing Jinyoung, and asks, “Pass the potatoes, will you?”

Jinyoung, bless his heart really, automatically reaches for the bowl and in the middle of passing it over, the realisation dawns upon him, freezing him immediately. Everyone else around Jihoon tenses at the _clear, unaffected_ sound of his voice, their gazes dragging towards Jihoon slowly to peruse at him. He can feel every pair of eyes staring holes into his skin, he can feel Woojin’s confused glare at him from his left and Jihoon thinks that this almost wins against his stupid decision of befriending the former.

“Um,” Jihoon says which doesn’t make things better because now, he practically confirmed everyone’s suspicion. He should have played it off as the chit-chattering noise of the Great Hall previously but now, since Jihoon’s such a fucking idiot, he makes a choking noise when Woojin grabs his wrist, tugging him to face him properly.

“Are you fucking _talking_?”

Jihoon winces at the bluntness of Woojin’s voice, his words. He thinks of a million ways to dodge around it but the fiery glint in Woojin’s eyes halt Jihoon from doing anything stupid again so he…dumbly nods at the boy, immediately flickering his gaze to the floor and trying to find interest in the wooden carvings of the floor rather than his housemates.

Then, Donghyuck, bless his heart too, turns to Woojin with wide eyes and pokes at his chest almost accusingly. “I thought you agreed to not take the spell off him!”

Woojin is still glaring into the side of Jihoon’s face intensely while the latter is pointedly looking elsewhere, gulping. “I. Did. Not.” Woojin enunciates every single syllable, every word.

Jihoon could almost hear a pin drop in the silence that follows at the Slytherin table. He can feel the stares boring deep into the back of his head as he blatantly ignore all of their gazes by staring straight as his plate of food. He kind of wants to shove potatoes into his mouth and choke so he doesn’t have to explain anything.

Then, just when Jihoon can’t take it anymore, Jinyoung places a hand on his shoulder with an air of concern. Jihoon finally looks up at everyone and tries to ignore Woojin’s unflinching stare at him. He glances briefly at the Hufflepuff table and whispers, trying to not move his lips as much (even though he’s fairly sure that no other houses are paying attention to the Slytherins, no one ever does).

“Yes, I’m talking. Yes, something happened.” Jihoon turns to Woojin as he says this. “And no, I will not be talking about it. So. Can. We. All. Leave. It Alone.”

That seems to snap everyone out of their reverie and they merely nod at Jihoon, a little dazed and surprised still but they turn back to the dinner. There’s no such discussion that follows after; everyone just moves on like nothing happened and that’s when a bubble of fondness grows in Jihoon’s heart for his mates because he knows that they’ve been dying to know what the fuck is going on but they’ve decided to put Jihoon’s best interest at heart. He swivels around to eye Woojin warily and he can see the conflict of emotions happening on his face as he pinches his face up in an attempt to seem impassive. Jihoon snorts and pats Woojin on the back, sliding him a smile of reassurance that he’s okay because that’s what that matters, right?

Woojin looks at him for a second, observes him and surrenders. Jihoon manages to get his potatoes after all and the slow, long-winded chatter carries the dinner until it’s late and they’re all yawning into their desserts. Jihoon remembers that there’s still homework to be done but then again, there’s the weekend ahead and he can always lock himself up in the dormitory and drown in all of his thoughts.

That’s exactly what he does.

Jihoon doesn’t know how they all have come to an agreement to not mention it at all or reveal that he can indeed talk again but when Monday comes and they all return to class, Jihoon’s back to writing on parchments, being silent and relying on wordless magic. The professors don’t suspect a thing, merely send looks of pity his way for his stubbornness and encourages him to keep up with the pace of the lessons. Jihoon nods at all of them, has lost count of the reassuring smiles he has given and keeps his head down.

Jihoon starts to brood a lot, and his sides feel awfully empty. He’s glad to be sitting back at the Slytherin table; it seems like everyone has gotten bored over the whole jinx thing and left him alone. There’s still whistling but it’s not as aggressive as before and he can deal with that. He continues his act, finding solace in the silence this time round and doesn’t feel as angered as before. Especially because he needs it now. He needs the peace and quiet on the outside to deal with the storm ongoing in his mind and heart.

He thinks of how he can’t find Daniel anywhere near him anymore and how it brings such a physical pain to his heart. Jihoon’s not usually one to quote the corny bullshit from romance novels but something about absence making the heart grow fonder? Jihoon becomes more obsessed with finding Daniel now, his eyes seeking him out every single moment. His heart yearns for the Hufflepuff’s presence more often than not and he finds that he’s not grown tired of Daniel as much as he wishes to. Jihoon loves his Slytherin mates, loves them for their dry humour, their sarcastic way about everything in life, their endless complaints but Jihoon finds himself aching for the warmth Daniel brings, the splash of yellow in his life.

It’s hard because Jihoon doesn’t even know what Daniel _wants_. Jihoon, himself, wants to talk but of course, his cowardice always wins and then, his Slytherin-ness jumps up and scolds him for wanting to do so. Because it’s Daniel’s fault! He kissed Jihoon! He left Jihoon all alone and asked him to pretend like it’s nothing! He was drunk and stupid and putting ideas in Jihoon’s mind! At the end of the day, it should be Daniel _searching_ for Jihoon, pleading for a chance to talk it out but whenever Jihoon turns the corner and sees Daniel from a safe distance, it’s like the latter is actively trying to run away and avoid him as much as he can. It hurts.

All Jihoon can think of is how much he _wants_ Daniel in the time he’s stayed away. How hard it is to keep all these feelings inside him after a whole year and a half of hiding it. How much he wants to just blurt it out at Daniel. How much he wants that memory of their first kiss to just wither away. Jihoon almost asked Woojin to obliviate it away, if only it isn’t so much an act of extremely advanced magic.

Jihoon frankly doesn’t know how long it’s been. He has kept his act up for a good four days more, living in the bliss of the ignorance, when Woojin finally cracks.

He’s just leaving the Astronomy tower after his class when Woojin corners him and immediately grabs his wrist to drag him away. Jihoon’s alarmed, almost jumping out of his skin at the aggressive pull from Woojin but he lets himself be tugged away. The question is at the tip of his tongue and Jihoon parts his lips to ask but then, there’s students around and they’re all staring curiously at the pair so he keeps his mouth shut.

Jihoon settles for jostling Woojin instead, forcefully planting his feet down to the ground as firmly as he can and effectively making Woojin brake in …whatever plan he has. They both have a class after this, _Transfiguration_ but as Jihoon figures, looking at his surroundings of the abandoned side of the third level corridor, that they’re not heading there. He feels the mild panic rising up because whatever Woojin has planned, it’s not good.

Woojin did in fact hex Jihoon in the first place and threw him into this mess he’s in. So. He’s not exactly paranoid to be this wary and doubtful of Woojin. He pries Woojin’s hand off his wrist – _Merlin_ , his grip is so tight and Woojin has this tight, determined look on his face that scares Jihoon because if there's anything worse than an amused prankster, it's hot-headed, stubborn Woojin. There's almost no way around it but Jihoon is even more determined to get him off his back so he uses all of his strength (there's not much _left_ , he used it all up doing wordless magic) to shove Woojin away.

Jihoon hisses lowly with gritted teeth, trying to not move his mouth as much, trying to not expose his voice just as yet. He’s aware that they're in an abandoned corridor but one can never be too safe and he's been the subject of oddly timed coincidences with girls poking their heads out of nowhere suddenly to scare the living hell out of him so he maintains his voice at a very low voice, only for his best friend slash kidnapper to bear.

“ _Fuck off_ , Wooj. I’m not interested.”

“Oh, I'm not asking for your interest.” Woojin says. Then, he clarified further thoughtfully, “Or your permission. Consider this an intervention.”

Jihoon had to keep his mouth tight-lipped whilst the urge to fucking scream in Woojin’s face wavers strongly in his chest. He barely grits out an, “ _Intervention_? Like I haven't had enough of your shit!”

And he's bristling because he's truly had enough of Woojin’s …fucking interventions. Did he even ask the latter to disrupt his life with a jinx? _No._ Sure, Jihoon's crush was bordering on pathetic by that point but he had it all in control. He never once believed that he'd have a chance with Daniel. He knows that the Hufflepuff fancies boys just as much as girls – they've had a talk about it when Daniel questioned Jihoon about his lack of girlfriends. It was so abashing that Jihoon had to close his eyes, admitting that the reason why he didn't have a girlfriend despite having some female students coming up to him and confessing is because he doesn't even _look at them._

Daniel had sputtered then, and Jihoon was horrified for a second, thinking that maybe he should've checked if Daniel's alright with this – what if he was _homophobic_? What if he hexed Jihoon right there and then for being a gay wizard? Or… Merlin, what if he humiliated him in front of the whole school body? But then, Daniel continued with a light laugh, slowly forming into a full on amused laugh, confusing Jihoon further. Jihoon remembered then that Daniel's a Hufflepuff and he's the loveliest being ever to exist. Daniel confessed that he enjoyed gazing at pretty boys and flushed so hard that Jihoon couldn't stop staring. It haunted the back of his eyelids sometimes in the middle of the night, his hands drifting and drifting, his head thrown back in a soundless cry of Daniel’s name.

So, _no_ , despite all of that pathetic wanking over a clueless boy and continuing on to talk to Daniel like Jihoon's life has never been altered so differently, he's never thought that he'd have a chance with Daniel. As amazing as their friendship can be, Jihoon and Daniel… they're so _different_. Jihoon feels like the darkest of night, and Daniel… Daniel is brighter than the _sun_. There’s so much light in his eyes and it's never ending, it never falters. If Daniel were to settle down with someone, it should be with someone who could match his bright eyed smiles, conquering the world with overbearing light. Jihoon can't be that, he gets along with Daniel fine but he can't imagine the latter ever looking at him _that way_.

But that's the issue, isn't it? Daniel _did_ confess that he does see Jihoon that way, _wants_ to kiss him and kissed him anyway. But then, he asked Jihoon to _pretend_ like it's nothing. Had he been ashamed that Jihoon's who he is? That he's fraternising with a Slytherin out of all people? It's one thing to befriend a snake, it's another to consider _romance_ with.

All of these thoughts breach the front of his mind and Jihoon finally strangles his wrist away from Woojin, the latter looking a little shocked at the expression on Jihoon's face. He wonders how he looks like; lovesick? Pained? Tortured? God, he hopes he doesn't look like he's about to cry even though he feels it like a balloon heightening in his chest, threatening to burst at any moment. He doesn't want to _cry again_ over all of this, he just wants… he just wants…

Fuck, Jihoon just wants Daniel to talk to him. Without the influence of firewhisky or any alcohol. He just wants Daniel to slide up right next to him with an eased smile, saying, _“Miss me?”_ and they'll go right back to normal.

What worries Jihoon more than anything that that kiss, while Jihoon had fantasised about it for days, months, a whole _year_ , felt more like the end of something between them rather than the beginning of something blossoming like he had hoped.

And that hurts more than anything because that's exactly his fear and it came true.

“Please,” Jihoon's begging and it makes Woojin's eyes widen fractionally. He realises that he's talking at normal volume level. He can't be bothered, he supposes, he's already late for Transfiguration. “Don't try to fix anything.”

“But–”

“I don't beg you to do anything before, not even to take the spell off but this time, please _don’t_.” Jihoon's voice is all choked up and Woojin is stunned. He nods and Jihoon mirrors it back before stepping away and rushing all the way down to Transfiguration class.

Jihoon finds that he's only a few minutes late and the professor barely takes a glance at him, merely shooting him in while droning on about the lesson. He thanks his lucky stars and settles down, he composes himself quickly enough. Woojin comes in a minute later with a soft, uttered apology and sits next to Jihoon. They sit in silence throughout the lesson but halfway through, Woojin’s hand rests on Jihoon’s forearm and he traces an _I’m sorry_ on Jihoon's skin. His lips twitch in acknowledgment and they focus on Transfiguration instead, with a silent agreement.

The peace and quiet don’t last very long, as much as Jihoon wants. He realises the error of his ways.

Jihoon should’ve extended the same sentiment to the rest of his mates.

Right before lunch ends, Jihoon gets up to rush down to the dungeons to grab some books before Charms class starts. Just as he does so, Jinyoung, whom had been sitting next to him, gets up as well and tugs on Jihoon’s wrist without warning, without a single word. Perplexed, Jihoon wordlessly follows Jinyoung out of the Great Hall.

He’s never had reason to suspect Jinyoung of doing anything; the Slytherin usually keeps to himself, drops a few snide remarks there and then, and proves to be a really supportive friend which Jihoon appreciates a lot even though he feels a little guilty, not confiding in the boy about much. At that thought, Jihoon winces at the memory of Jinyoung’s hurt expression when he didn’t tell him about the lip lock jinx and he lets himself be dragged out of the Great Hall, unsure of what Jinyoung has planned but trusting him otherwise.

As Jinyoung comes to a stop before a locked classroom, Jihoon feels his resolve slightly wavering. He plasters on a smile nonetheless and directs it at Jinyoung, though looking at the reflection in Jinyoung’s gaze, he sees that it’s more of a grimace.

_What are you doing?_ Jihoon mouths the words at Jinyoung and the latter smiles back, full of mirth and mystery, resembling Woojin usually at the beginning of his pranks, right before the trap sets in. The perplexity that Jihoon had been feeling fades and the uncertainty comes in, full force. He’s hit by the utter déjà vu of the entire situation and before he can make an attempt at running away, Jinyoung’s already pulling him in, uttering _alohomora_.

The door clicks open, the spell being a success. Jihoon takes a step back but fuck, Jinyoung can see right through him and his hold on Jihoon’s wrist is tight. Jihoon’s stuck in the same dilemma and while Woojin didn’t get really far, Jinyoung already tricked Jihoon into this. He’s clearly satisfied about it, grinning from ear to ear, and Jihoon has half a mind to start threatening to write letters to the Bae’s but he’s not a snitch so the threat dies on his tongue.

Jihoon lets himself be pulled into the horror of the dark classroom.

“Jinyoung?” a voice calls out, a too familiar voice that freezes Jihoon immediately. He has heard this voice a million times before, in reality, in his dreams. Jihoon looks up in dread to find a tall silhouette leaning against a desk. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ “Is that you?”

“Have fun,” Jinyoung whispers to Jihoon before letting go of Jihoon’s wrist and Jihoon clambers forward to get out but Jinyoung beats him to it, already slipping out of the door and locking it shut. Jihoon stares stupidly at the locked door, patting his robes for his wand and finding that it’s _gone._

Jinyoung fucking stole his wand. That bastard.

“ _Lumos._ ” The classroom brightens with a newfound light, Jihoon feels tense all over. The hope of maybe doing this in the dark immediately squashed. “Jinyoung, what’s u— _Jihoon?!_ ”

Jihoon slowly slides his gaze over to the boy in the classroom, wincing inwardly at how gorgeous Daniel looks despite the broken expression on his face. There’s surprise evident in the wide-eyed gaze he has directed at Jihoon, his mouth parted. Jihoon keeps his gaze on a point beyond Daniel’s shoulders, he shouldn’t be staring at his lips, he shouldn’t even be here.

Jihoon truly can’t trust his own housemates anymore.

“I—what are you doing here? Where’s Jinyoung? Did he te—” the realisation dawns on Daniel a little too late and he flinches back, pursing his lips. He suddenly looks so tired, flitting his gaze downwards. “Jinyoung didn’t tell you I was here, did he?”

Jihoon parts his lips but Daniel beats him to it with an awkward chuckle, a light rub on the back of his neck. It sounds a little bitter to the ears as he continues, “Right. I forgot. You can’t talk, can you?” Daniel leans back on the desk again, looking so resigned that it pains Jihoon to watch. “Got your trusty parchment then?”

Jihoon flinches, the hurt flickering in his eyes as he takes a step backwards. His back hits the door and he wishes for his wand terribly, wishes to get out of here, wishes for that look on Daniel’s face to disappear.

He’s spent so many days, thinking of the other boy, imagining this very scenario and now when he’s standing before Daniel, Jihoon realises that he can’t do it. He simply can’t. He can’t look at the latter and unleash his rage like he wanted, question him about the kiss, demand answers like he deserved. All Jihoon wants to do is run.

The fear seizes Jihoon’s heart like an old friend curling around him, choking him around his throat, reminding him of how truly pathetic he is in the face of the truth. He’s tired of it, so tired of reverting to his old ways.

“Jihoon, I’m sorry but I don’t think I can do this—”

“Why did you kiss me?”

The words rush out of Jihoon’s mouth all too fast and he shuts his eyes, afraid of the look on Daniel’s face. Coward, he is, so he tries to even out his breathing. He opens his eyes to face the cemented floor beneath them. His fists are clenched so tightly, his knuckles are whitened. He can hear the beating of his heart in his ears, roaring against the silence that follows after. The temptation to sneak a glance at Daniel’s face is overwhelming but Jihoon forces himself not to.

What if it’s a look of disgust when he realises that his kiss— _he_ is the one Jihoon’s heart desires after all. What if it’s a blank expression, something forced to make Jihoon feel better but ultimately it doesn’t work because Jihoon can see right through it? He doesn’t want to be able to read Daniel’s expressions.

He just wants to get out of here.

A soft gasp, a few seconds late. Then, “ _No._ Ji? What the _fuck?_ ”

Jihoon sighs and it echoes off the four walls in the classroom. It causes a sharp inhale from the latter. Jihoon fixates his gaze on the ground, staring blankly at his feet. He’s trembling a bit and he can’t feel his fingers anymore, feel _anything_ at all. His mind is dizzying and all he can think of is the shock in Daniel’s voice.

Jihoon takes a deep breath and braves himself before finally flitting his gaze upwards to lock eyes with Daniel’s. He’s taken aback, losing his breath all at once, at the sight of how broken and confused Daniel looks. His eyes are red-rimmed and there’s that stubborn crease in between his eyebrows. It is more instinctive than anything when Jihoon crosses the short distance between them and gently lifts his hand to press lightly against Daniel’s forehead, rubbing against that frown. He realises that Daniel’s holding his breath, holding his gaze so intensely. Slowly, his gaze lowers down to Jihoon’s lips and the latter feels too self-conscious out of a sudden, dropping his hand.

“I asked a question, Daniel,” Jihoon’s voice sounds so tired, underused from days of keeping up the silence. It’s hoarse and he clears his throat, trying to resist the bile from rising up his throat. His hands are still shaking and no matter how hard he tries to clench his fists, he’s still trembling from fear. Anxiety. Nerves.

There’s a ghost of a presence hovering over his hand. Hesitant. Jihoon looks down to see Daniel capturing his clenched fist in a loose grip, tenderly prying his fingers open. He watches, transfixed, as Daniel interlocks their fingers together. Not too tight, not too loose. His hand is so warm in his, filling Jihoon with something indescribable, but something that he needed for a long time.

Jihoon misses Daniel so much, the revelation hits him so strongly and he flashes an intense look at the Hufflepuff with such longing. He’s been so stupid.

“I…” Daniel trails off, his lips parted, still speechless. He still looks perplexed, from the first word that came out of Jihoon’s lips. Daniel’s gaze flickers down to his lips and then, he shakes his head. “I told you. It was driving me crazy. _You_ were driving me crazy, you still _are._ ”

Daniel tightens his grip on Jihoon’s hand and he lifts their intertwined hands up to his mouth. Jihoon watches, a curious glint in his eyes, as Daniel presses a firm, soft peck to the back of Jihoon’s hand. The lightest touch sending a shiver down Jihoon’s spine whilst warming his heart immensely. Daniel’s eyes are bright again and he continues, his voice husky, “I like you a lot, Ji. You deserve better than that drunken kiss, I’m so sorry for being such a _fucking_ jerk.”

Then, suddenly, all Jihoon can breathe in is the peppermint as Daniel presses closer to him, his eyes raking all over him intensely, searching, seeking. “Please. _Please_ tell me that you didn’t kiss anyone else over the course of the past few days.”

Jihoon’s mind has been reeling –it’s been unable to stop when it comes to matters revolving around Kang Daniel— ever since the other boy kissed him for the first time that night. The confession that boggled Jihoon day and night, silencing him to a confused pulp. And now, with the plea in Daniel’s voice, the clear sobriety in his eyes, the intensity his gaze holds, his mind is failing. Jihoon’s _falling._

But as Jihoon leans towards Daniel, he finds that he’s been _falling_ for a while now and there’s no end. He’ll never be able to catch his breath, he’ll never be able to find his footing, he’ll never reach concreted ground. So he falls headfirst into Daniel, capturing his lips in broad daylight, both of them bright-eyed and aware.

Both of them utterly stupid thumping idiots.

Daniel gasps into the kiss and then, he moans, low into Jihoon’s mouth. Jihoon finds that he likes that sound, wants to hear it over and over again so he sinks his teeth down on Daniel’s bottom lip, eliciting another moan when he licks a stripe over the bite mark and sucks. His other hand is tangled in Daniel’s hair, running through his brown tresses as his body presses against Daniel’s.

Jihoon pulls an inch away to breathe against Daniel’s mouth, whispering while his lips brush the latter’s agonisingly, “I like you too, idiot. You’re the reason why Woojin hexed me because I’ve been harbouring a pathetic crush on you for a year.”

Daniel’s eyes widen in surprise at Jihoon’s confession but quickly fall shut when Jihoon presses an insistent kiss on his lips, deepening it. Daniel’s hand snakes around Jihoon’s waist, tugging him even closer to him, as Jihoon’s lips artfully bruise a spot below Daniel’s jaw.

They kiss for what seem to be hours but must have been mere minutes in reality. Jihoon feels like drifting away, the balloon in his chest finally bursting when he pulls back to stare at Daniel with such a softened expression. His hair is wild from Jihoon’s incessant tugging, lips swollen a pretty crimson, cheeks flushed. Jihoon’s positive he’s soaring— without a broom _or_ magic— when Daniel whines low in his throat and pulls him back in for another kiss.

Jihoon has missed Charms by now and Daniel too for whatever class he’s supposed to be in. They should’ve casted a silencing charm on the door but they’re too occupied in making up for lost time wasted on avoiding each other. After a while, Jihoon has somehow made his way into Daniel’s lap and Daniel’s found sitting on the desk, clutching on Jihoon’s thighs to stabilise him.

“Why did you ask me to pretend like it’s nothing?”

“Did you really like me for an entire year?”

They both ask at the same time and they stare at each other for a brief second before erupting into shared, embarrassed laughter. Jihoon swats at Daniel’s shoulder, insisting (only because he wants to prolong answering _his_ question), “I asked first.”

Daniel scrunches up his nose and his expression settles into one of guilt. He sounds small,, a little tense and Jihoon squeezes his hand in what he hopes to be reassuring. “I didn’t think you’d ever… _like_ me. I guess I was a little too drunk and afraid and stupid?”

He glances at Jihoon, his breath bated, and it lets go at the understanding in Jihoon’s expression. “I’m sorry,” he says, brushing his lips against Jihoon’s ear. It tickles his skin and he sighs, opting for a light slap against Daniel’s chest.

“You should be. I was so confused,” Jihoon says, he’s unable to keep the frown any longer as Daniel curls into him. “And yes, I really did like you for that long.”

He sees Daniel’s mouth parting to ask and Jihoon cuts in, interrupting, “Don’t ask me how. Not when you smile at me like the sun all the time, it’s enough to make anyone head over heels.”

A light blush paints Daniel’s cheeks and he’s so _stunning_ that it hurts Jihoon’s heart, he holds Daniel tighter in his arms. Daniel murmurs against his ear, his breath tickling him once more, “I’m glad you did.”

They’ve settled into an embrace; Jihoon’s head is leaning against Daniel’s shoulder, inhaling the minty scent mixed with something musky like a cologne. He muffles the laugh at the discovery and merely pecks a kiss onto Daniel’s throat, eyes glinting at the sight of a hicky blossoming on his neck. Daniel is rubbing slow patterns on Jihoon’s thighs, this time he’s spelling out something. Jihoon tries to make it out and it’s will…you…be…

Jihoon shoots up straight in Daniel’s lap, staring at the other boy in mild surprise. Daniel smiles at him, slow and fond and shy and it makes Jihoon’s heart ache even more, want him even more.

_Will you be mine?_

There’s hope lingering in Daniel’s brown irises and it makes Jihoon lean forward to kiss him, relishing in the taste of him on his tongue over and over again. He can never get enough. A laugh bubbles out of his throat, so incredibly blissful and relaxed, and he falls forward, head hitting Daniel’s shoulder with a soft thud.

“Usually, I would like to be wooed, go on a date or two first,” Jihoon teases, quirking his eyebrows at Daniel, and the latter rolls his eyes at him, threatening to push Jihoon off his lap.

Jihoon squeals as he teeters on the edge of falling over and sends a glare Daniel’s way when he grips Jihoon’s thighs tighter whilst cackling at his panicked expression. Jihoon has a hand raised to hit Daniel’s chest but it’s caught within Daniel’s grasp and his will to fight simmers away at the sight of Daniel’s gaze. His heart feels like it’s about to burst with every look Daniel sends his way and Jihoon thinks he’ll never ever ever get enough of the boy.

Not in this lifetime.

“Alright.” Daniel nods and Jihoon sputters in surprise as he kisses the corner of his mouth, his cheeks, his nose. He’s pretty sure his entire face is reddened now and he can’t seem to look away from the pure adoration in Daniel’s face, directed at _him, only for him._ “How about a date in Hogsmeade? Will that be enough wooing and dating for you to say yes?”

Jihoon laughs, it’s clear and ringing in his ears. His heart that has been broken has been mended a million times over at the sight of Daniel’s light eyes, wide grin, all for him.

“Yes,” Jihoon says and he kisses the word a few times over on Daniel’s skin, lips. His heart resonates with the word, feeling the happiness and Daniel’s arms ground him to the dream-like reality he had been floating in.

"Remind me to thank Woojin for this."

Jihoon laughs, he has no intention of sending words of gratitude to his best friend for one of the most difficult times of his life in Hogwarts. And he's just about to relay his memory of the absolute suffering he went through to remind Daniel of what Woojin had actually done when it _struck_ him.

"Oh, I know _how_ we can thank him."

_Did you just fucking hex me?_

"Technically, it was Daniel," Jihoon explains cheerfully. Daniel pipes up next to him, laughing as Woojin's cheeks burn in a mix of abashment and fury, "It's Jihoon's idea though."

His eyes are blazing and usually, Jihoon would be scared but this time round, he’s leaning back into Daniel. Woojin narrows his eyes at both of them, his lips in a permanent frown. He scribbles furiously on the parchment that Jihoon once favoured.

_You're both going to be killed fo–_

"It's okay, Wooj," Jinyoung says idly next to the couple. He looks up beneath his eyelashes, sweeping a gaze over the silently sputtering Woojin, his quill stuttering to a stop at Jinyoung’s voice. "We'll get you kissing the girl of your dreams in no time."

Woojin's stare is so painfully obvious (Jihoon had to choke back a laugh) but Jinyoung's already looking away, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. Woojin's cheeks burn even redder, the fury from earlier diminished and replaced by ...shyness. Wow, Jihoon never thought he'd live to see the day.

Suddenly, a hand creeps up Jihoon's own hand and lightly intertwines between his fingers. The warmth emanating from the hold fills Jihoon and he turns to his left, blissed, mirroring Daniel's soft smile back. Daniel’s other hand raises to tug on the end of Jihoon’s emerald tie, fixing it idly.

Today, it’s Daniel’s turn to sit next to Jihoon at the Slytherin table and whilst the stares are quite disconcerting, Jihoon’s relieved to see that Daniel doesn’t care or mind it at all. They take turns every alternate day and Jihoon once mentioned that he prefers being at the Hufflepuff table to the dismay of his Slytherin mates but Daniel shook his head at him, insisted on the fairness of the routine and it’s so hard to not love Daniel even more in that moment.

He hasn’t said it yet but he’s sure that it’s loud and clear in the way he openly stares at Daniel, the way he turns into a sputtering mess when they touch, the flame in his heart unwavering. Jihoon inches closer to the Hufflepuff then, their thighs pressing together, and he feels so utterly warm, mourning the minute they have to separate for classes.

Jihoon tightens his hold on Daniel's hand, because he doesn’t want to ever let go, because he wants to soak in every second of being near him, and leans over to whisper clearly into his ear, because he's found his voice, he's found his footing.


End file.
